Welcoming the World: Attracting international visitors.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa

Whether it's the lure of the northern lights, the chance to catch a king salmon, or the opportunity to view bears in the wild, Alaska attracts a significant number of visitors each year. Of more than a million people who visited in 2022, about 10 percent of the total was made up of international travelers. Those tourists may be seeking experiences that differ from what in-state or domestic travelers want to see in Alaska, so destinations statewide have adapted to that global clientele.

Foreign Correspondence

Anchorage draws in more than the average number of international travelers, according to David Kasser, senior vice president of sales for Visit Anchorage. He estimates that the city sees about double the percentage of international visitors compared to the rest of the state.

To attract international tourists, Visit Anchorage takes a number of different approaches.

"The number one thing we do is destination training; we want vetted operators to be really informed about what it means to travel to Alaska," says Kasser. "For example, I was recently in Las Vegas at the RTO [Receptive Tour Operator] Summit where I had meetings with thirty-five international operators to discuss their needs. For some, working with Alaska Latin Tours might be the right fit; others want to work directly with tours out of Prince William Sound or a specific flying service like Rust's or K2. We help them make those connections."

Visit Anchorage also holds organized sales blitzes during which they travel to a country or a series of countries and host events with travel trade and media.

"For years, we traveled to four major cities in Japan and to Korea and China to garner local government support as well as provide destination training and to help operators make tourism connections," says Kasser. "A lot of it is just being in front of people and making them feel welcome while showing them how our members fit their travel needs."

Visit Anchorage also hosts meetings for international buyers, such as the Go West Summit, which visited Anchorage this past February. The event included a pre-FAM (familiarization tour) in Southcentral, as well as events at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, the Alaska Railroad, and local breweries.

"These types of events are great for introducing our destination to tour operators; they can meet our members that provide dog mushing services, fat tire biking tours, hiking trips in Chugach State Park, and more. It creates a lot of buzz and excitement around our products," says Kasser.

Visit Anchorage also maintains international contractors in Australia and New Zealand, German-speaking Europe (an industry term that encompasses...