Taking the high road.

• Author: Ripley, Kate
• Position: Alaska Highway helps tourism grow - Cover Story

Boosted by the Alaska Highway's golden anniversary, Alaska tourism is expected to log new peak visitor statistics.

Partly because the rest of the nation is suffering from an economic recession with high unemployment rates, employee layoffs and large corporate losses, tourism industry officials in Alaska are cautious about predicting this summer's visitor season. Most, however, are optimistic that 1992 will equal or surpass last year's banner season.

Among the reasons for optimism, this year marks the much-awaited 50th anniversary of the Alaska Highway -- the 1,422-mile road from Dawson Creek in British Columbia through the Yukon Territory to Delta Junction, 98 miles south of Fairbanks. Last year, about 77,000 vacationers drove the two-lane route. The Great Alaska Highways Society, an organization formed in 1988 to promote the highway's 50th year, estimates an increase this summer to 100,000 Alaska Highway travelers.

"I think that we're going to see a lot more Canadians this year. We've gotten a lot of inquiries from Canadian folks who want to travel the highway," says Karen Lane, community and public relations manager for the non-profit society, headquartered in Fairbanks. "I'm sure that a lot of parts of the state will see more tourists, whether they stay in Fairbanks or take a left at Tok, but I'm sure the numbers will be up everywhere."

The society has received more than $800,000 in state Division of Tourism grants over the past three years to promote the highway's anniversary through advertising, public relations and promotional campaigns. Many of those campaigns have been coordinated with British Columbia and the Yukon Territory through an international effort, explains Wendy Wolf, deputy director of the tourism division.

According to Wolf, the grants are an investment that the division expects to pay off. "We hear it's going to be busy. People are coming from May through September," she says.

The division normally receives 120,000 to 130,000 inquiries annually from people wanting information on Alaska. By early spring, requests already had exceeded traditional volumes by more than 8,000 inquiries -- a good indicator that more people are planning an Alaska trip this year, Wolf says.

Ken Morris, public relations coordinator for the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau, predicts, "We'll get a lot of rubber-tire traffic. ... Even if they don't come this summer, the idea has been planted in their heads." The promotional efforts, though specific to the highway, have a positive domino effect on the rest of the state's regions, Morris notes.

The highway celebration involves 26 Alaska communities that are either planning new events or extending some of their traditional activities to tie into the highway festivities. The highway's lure includes beautiful vistas and natural scenic wonders, but almost equally important is its interesting background.

In February 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered construction of an emergency highway to Alaska to secure an overland route to West Coast military bases during World War II. The United States provided labor and Canada provided materials and rights-of-way for the road, sometimes called the Alcan, at a cost of $138 million.

Soldiers from seven U.S. Army Corps of Engineer regiments helped to build the road in only eight months and 11 days. A grand total of 11,500 military-troop workers and 7,500 civilians labored on the highway during peak construction.

Banking on Bookings. Another indicator that tourism will fare well this season is...