Tourism numbers stable: journalists visit or inquire about state in high numbers.

• Author: Cutler, Debbie
• Position: From the Editor

At a conference in Talkeetna in mid-September a gentleman from the area told me tourism numbers were down at his tourism-related business. At a seminar in Anchorage, Dee Buchanon, director of marketing for CIRI Alaska Tourism, told me more media than ever was here to tour and write about the Alaska experience.

It made me curious what has happened this year in the tourism industry. So I made a couple of calls: Jack Bonney, public relations manager for the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau; and Ron Peck, president and chief operating officer for the Alaska Tourism Industry Association. Here's what I learned.

"I can tell you anecdotally we're hearing from many businesses that it has been a solid summer for Anchorage," said Bonney. "Hotel occupancy is up compared to 2010, with rates remaining stable or even increasing; that's just one facet of the industry, but provides some insight into the summer."

And as far as journalists are concerned, he confirmed many were visiting Alaska. "Every year, dozens of journalists visit Anchorage researching assignments or future stories on Alaska," he said. "When you include the number of journalists researching stories from afar, and the number of journalists we pitch possible story ideas to remotely, that number is much greater."

Peck agreed. "You know, I can tell you from an ATIA standpoint, we impacted more than 500 journalists (this year), assisted them in fact-finding, statistics research, where to go, and in some cases travel...