Tourism Industry

7 airlines plan summer flights to Anchorage

Alaska's largest airport is about to get busier. Officials at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport have announced seven carriers will provide summer seasonal passenger service this year.

Kodiak faces loss of more than half of cruise business in 2013

Holland America says neither Kodiak's proposed sales tax hike nor a proposed increase in moorage fees figured into its decision to pull the Amsterdam cruise liner out of Kodiak next summer.

Alaska cruise yacht burns at Seattle dock

Fire destroyed an adventure tour boat being prepared for the Alaska cruise season Friday in Seattle, and the operator says the loss likely will total millions of dollars.

B.C. neighborhood protests foul air from Alaska cruise industry

The James Bay neighborhood of Victoria, British Columbia, claims to be the oldest continuously occupied residential area on the West Coast north of San Francisco. Its Victorian homes are a tourist attraction, and its streets are lined with mature oaks and evergreens. But its location on Victoria's harbor is giving residents headaches -- maybe literally. Air pollution from Alaska-bound cruise ships has prompted the neighborhood association to bestow its inaugural Dirty Air Award on the cruise industry, reports the Victoria Times Colonist.

More tourists anticipated for Interior Alaska

More cruise ships will be traveling to the Gulf of Alaska this summer, and that means more tourists should end up visiting Interior Alaska, says a Fairbanks business leader.

Tour company cuts Yukon River cruises, pulls out of Eagle

Holland America has pulled the Yukon Queen II river boat from the Yukon this summer, leaving the small community of Eagle, near the Canadian border, without its annual summer influx of up to 200 tourists a day. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that Holland America / Princess Alaska's decision was spurred in part by repeated flood washouts on the road to Eagle, over which tour buses were driven to meet the river cruises to and from Dawson, Yukon.

Kodiak sees its first cruise ship of 2012

Kodiak's first cruise ship passengers of the season were greeted by rain, snow, sleet and hail, but one of them says he didn't mind.

Arctic emerging as popular topic at Coast Guard Academy

As rising temperatures melt Arctic ice caps, the U.S. Coast Guard is ramping up for deployments in northern seas that are emerging as a new maritime frontier.

Cruise ship tax falling short of financial expectations in Sitka

About 120,000 people stepped off cruise ships in Sitka last year, and officials expected $5 for each as the city's share of Alaska's $34.50 cruise passenger tax. Sitka's check from the state, however, arrived with a surprise.

Alaska Interior feels pinch of reduced road, ferry tourism

A tourism survey confirms what business owners in Alaska's Interior already knew: RVs with out-of-state plates are becoming less common on Alaska's highways.

Murkowski economic aide gets tourism issues too

Sen. Lisa Murkowski's economic policy aide, Miles Baker, is taking on tourism-related issues too.

Kodiak bear guides aim to give guests low-impact adventure

Harry and Brigid Dodge's efforts to reduce the environmental impact of their business have won them several awards. This month, their business, Kodiak Treks, was recertified by Adventure Green Alaska, the sole Alaska organization offering a certification process for ecotourism.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25

Worst-case scenario? What if a cruise ship founders in Alaska's Arctic

It's not a prime destination yet, but the Arctic is attracting more interest from cruise companies. And even though Alaska officials claim a Costa Concordia-type disaster is unlikely here, they are referring only to the state's popular Inland Passage routes. As Popular Mechanic points out, a cruise grounding in newly ice-free but still ice-cold waters off Arctic Alaska would likely be a huge rescue challenge.

Seafarers outraged that captain would jump ship

Seafaring tradition holds that the captain should be last to leave a sinking ship. But is it realistic to expect skippers -- only human after all -- to suppress their survival instinct amid the horror of a maritime disaster? To ask them to stare down death from the bridge, as the lights go out and the water rises, until everyone else has made it to safety?

Cruise disaster a 'wake-up call' for Alaska, says safety adviser

In a state that expects to see more than 400 cruise-ship sailings with nearly a million passengers this summer, it's difficult to look at the images of the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster and not wonder: Could it happen in Alaska?

Seafarers outraged that captain would jump ship

Photos: Cruise ship grounding

As cruise ships get larger, are they any safer?

NEW YORK -- The grounding and capsizing of the Costa Concordia has raised questions about the safety of the ever-increasing size of cruise ships. But experts say that these new megaships have the latest safety and navigation technology and pose little risk to passengers despite their gargantuan bulk.

Alaska's attractions lure visitors even in winter

In the dead of winter, the air outside swings past zero on the Fahrenheit scale around the Anchorage area. Farther north around Fairbanks, it gets even colder. But none of this dissuades tourists who see this as a time to take in some of the attractions that have built Alaska's tourism reputation.

Visits to Alaska national parks up 2 percent in 2011

National parks in Alaska saw a 2 percent increase in visitors in 2011, according to preliminary figures.

INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS

Group changes name to 'Visit Anchorage'

After 36 years of bringing business to Anchorage, the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau is now doing business as Visit Anchorage. The name change was announced Thursday during its December membership luncheon.

National labor board files lawsuit against Sheraton

The National Labor Relations Board has filed a lawsuit in federal court, accusing the Texas owners of the Sheraton Anchorage of unfair labor practices.

New scanners debut at Anchorage airport

The first full-body scanners to peek beneath Alaska air travelers' clothes are now in use at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, and unlike previous models used in the Lower 48, the new machines do not create a detailed picture of passengers.

Photos: Full-body scanners demonstrated

Alaska airports to get scanners that don't show naked fliers