Mary Pemberton
Alaska's fiscal crisis has left the state's tourism marketing officials wondering just how to use the reduced amount of money they have to market Alaska.
According to the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA), state money for tourism marketing has shrunk by 90% over two years. Just a couple of years ago, the state allocated $18 million for tourism marketing. For fiscal year 2017, legislators recommended $4.5 million, but the governor vetoed that amount, leaving marketing officials with $1.5 million.
According to Jillian Simpson, ATIA's vice president, the cut means that Alaska can't launch a national advertising campaign, leaving it unable to compete with other states or international destinations such as Australia and Canada.
For the first time in over 20 years, Alaska will not send out its annual Alaska Vacation Planner, which has been very popular with the travel trade industry, she said. There will be no TV, magazine or direct-mail advertising.
The $1.5 million will be used primarily for public relations, a travel trade program and to maintain the organization's website. ATIA's board met on July 7 and will meet again on July 28 to talk about the funding problem.
Oil taxes and royalties pay for much of Alaska's operating costs. The steep drop in oil prices and some tax changes means that Alaska is looking at a $3.2 billion budget deficit, with savings being used to pay for 70% of the state's operating costs.
Budget cuts recently approved by lawmakers and the governor reduced state spending by more than $1 billion; funding for state agencies was reduced 7.5%. To make matters worse, legislators and the governor can't agree on where to find the money to operate the state. Alaska, which just a short time ago was flush with money, is expected to run through its savings in two years.
Alaska's budget crisis comes at a time when tourism is one of the few bright spots in the economy. More than 2 million tourists arrived in Alaska last year, a 2% increase. The travel industry generates more than $4 billion annually and more than 40,000 jobs. But Simpson said while the industry looks good this year, it will be hard to do better given how little money there is for marketing Alaska tourism.
"This is not a competitive budget," Simpson said.