Tourism.

• Author: Peck, Ron
• Position: 2006 Alaska Forecast

The summer of 2005 was good for Alaska's tourism industry. We experienced comfortable growth over 2004 in almost all sectors. Cruise ship travel increased by 7.7 percent. However, independent visitors (including Alcan long-haul traffic) has been flat for several years. What's the bottom line? The indicators we study tell us that, in terms of overall visitors, the season was up an estimated 2 percent, bringing the total visitors to Alaska to more than 1.5 million.

What about this year--Summer 2006? Businesses are telling us that early booking trends are very encouraging. We are hopeful that the 2006 season will continue a pattern of sustainable growth. Some of the reasons for this upward trend are as follows:

* Continuing international and domestic interest in Alaska as a unique wilderness destination

* International visitor interest from the Pacific Rim

* Value of the Euro against the USD...