For the Northern Susitna Valley, tourism is the primary engine of the local economy. After a tough year in 2020, visitors returned in large numbers during 2021. Judging by sales tax numbers for Downtown Talkeetna, visitors spent more money in town than they did pre-pandemic. Now, with next summer season still months away, questions are emerging for what 2022 will look like.
Casey Ressler is the Marketing and Communications Manager for the Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau. He told the Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce last week that the summer of 2021 was dominated by independent travelers. All of the cruises that would normally have brought visitors to Southcentral Alaska were canceled due to COVID-19. As of now, however, it looks like those cruises may resume next year.
“As of right now, all the major [cruise] lines are advertising their 2022 sailings.”
Ressler says it’s unclear how many of last year’s independent travelers were visitors who had planned to come on a cruise, but changed their plans due to the pandemic and how similar travelers’ plans might be altered with a resumed cruise schedule.
While there were plenty of visitors in 2021, some businesses struggled due to a lack of staff. In Talkeetna, multiple businesses closed one or more days a week during the summer season, and some stayed shuttered altogether. In a normal year, the J1 visa program, which brings college students from other countries to the United States, would supplement the labor pool. While that program is up and running again, Ressler says there could be continued challenges for Alaska.
“We’ve been out of it for two years as a destination. So a lot of the students—Alaska isn’t high up in their word-of-mouth, and they’re looking elsewhere. While it’s resumed, for sure, there are still some challenges with it.”
If numbers of independent travelers from this year are combined with a typical number of cruise passengers, it would put additional strain on the area’s resources. Ressler says it may be helpful for the borough and the Northern Valley to consider what they want things to look like in the future.
“One of the things I would love to see, borough-wide and specifically for Talkeetna, is the development of a tourism master plan. I think we’re at a point…where tourism has some serious ramifications for the day-to-day lives of residents.”
While the cruise lines are currently booking for next summer, very little is certain. The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has already led to the cancelation of some international events in Europe, which is home to most J1 workers who come to the Northern Valley.
In the meantime, there is the potential for funds to help pay for tourism infrastructure going forward through the American Rescue Plan Act. Staff from Governor Dunleavy’s and Senator Lisa Murkowski’s offices were present at the chamber meeting last week, and said they would pass on the needs and concerns of Northern Valley businesses.
