Marketing Alaska: the lure is great, but getting visitors to the state takes the efforts of many tourism organizations.

• Author: Pardes, Joan
• Position: Alaska Travel Industry Association

World travelers have answered the call of America's far north for centuries. From Jack London and John Muir to gold-seekers and mountain climbers, Alaska--both the myth and the reality--has been a beacon for explorers since steamships sailed north.

In the early years of the 21st century, millions of people visit Alaska every year where the myth of The Last Frontier still captures the imagination. And the reality of modern transportation makes it possible for travelers to heed their own individual call of the wild--whether it be a camping trip above the Arctic Circle or a five-star cruise up the Inside Passage.

Alaska's visitors have created the state's current tourism industry, which weighs in as The Last Frontier's second largest industry, trailing resource development and running a tight race for the No. 2 spot with the seafood industry, according to the state Department of Labor. In the past decade, Alaska's tourism sector has grown dramatically and recently experienced above-average employment growth due to construction projects that have increased the state's tourism infrastructure (i.e. hotels, tours, modes of transportation, etc.), and in 2004 accounted for some 40,000 jobs throughout the state. Along with continued improvements and new additions to the Alaska destination market, access to the American's northernmost state has improved greatly with domestic and international direct flights from dozens of cities around the globe. But to fuel this major engine of growth, Alaska's tourism industry can't rely on the call of the wild to attract worldwide travelers in today's highly competitive destination marketplace--it needs to get the word out by using state-of-the-art business practices--most commonly known as marketing.

MARKETING THE LARGEST STATE IN THE UNION

With a $9 million budget, the Alaska Travel Industry Association is the state's official tourism marketing organization. While that budget may seem healthy, Alaska is outspent by many domestic and international destinations, and according to a study conducted by the Travel Industry Association, the state's budget is a quarter of America's other exotic destination--Hawaii.

Despite the state's comparative lack of funds, Alaska attracted more visitors last summer than the previous year with almost 1.5 million travelers that--along with the state's winter visitors--infused $1.5 billion into the state's economy. With direct mail campaigns, television and print ads, a strong Internet...