With the COVID-19 pandemic likely to continue to dismantle the tourism sector of Alaska’s economy, especially on the Kenai, there are still opportunities to make up ground. In-state travel proved to be a difference-maker for many businesses during the hunker-down period last year, with locals making up more than two-thirds of 2020 business.
The Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council issued a news release, reminding Alaskans that keeping things local will not only help the state economy, but will also help local economies surge, despite the inevitable loss of visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Debbie Speakman of the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council spoke to KSRM on Thursday: “As soon as we knew COVID was going to be a long haul, we really changed our messaging talking to Alaskans. We’ll just continue on that this year, and I know that we’re getting vaccines, but we’re keeping that motion of Alaskans exploring our backyard. This area may take that opportunity to explore and give a real appreciation of not only our state, but what the small mom-and-pop businesses do to make it a place we want to live at.”
She continued: “We are seeing a lot of air carriers taking up some slack. They’re not cutting as many flights as we thought they were. After the announcement with the cruise ships, airlines are going to continue to build on their independent travelers who are coming down, but really, this year is going to be for Alaskans. We’re lucky for the peninsula, we’re on the road to recovery, and I’ve talked to so many people who – this was their first time down [in 2020] to the peninsula, or they haven’t come down since they were children, so now they have a reason to continue to come back.”