The ‘Gold Rush’ to Alaska in ’86

From here in Alaska’s “Banana Belt” to Nome by the Bering Sea, the 49th state is gearing up for the Gold Rush of ’86.

This time the negotiable nuggets will come from what is anticipated to be a record year of tourism. Cruise companies and tour operators report booking increases as high as 50% over 1985, a year that also set records for vacation visits.

As for the nuggets, a new study shows that visitors to Alaska tend to be among the more affluent travelers, spending an average of $942 in the state over and above the cost of getting here.

There were 740,000 visitors to Alaska last year, about one out of five of them Californians who arrived in record numbers by highway as well as by air and cruise ships.

Road to the Moon

“Californians, God bless them!” says Don Dickey, a Californian who became director of tourism for Alaska. “If there was a road to the moon, I know they’d be setting records driving right up to it.”

In addition to growing awareness of the natural wonders and tremendous diversity of attractions in Alaska, several new factors are working together to fuel expectations for a record number of vacationers.

The decline of the dollar’s purchasing power in many international destinations is turning individual and group travelers toward U.S. travel. A parallel influence is concern about terrorism and safety in some parts of the world.

“We regret that such factors are an influence in travel this year,” says Dickey, “but we do see many people turning toward Alaska as a destination that seems exotic to them, and yet is part of the United States.”

Expo 86 in Vancouver

He reports that a third major motivating factor on travel to the Northwest, one without negative implications, is Expo 86 in Vancouver, B.C. With more than 13 million tickets already sold, Expo has become one of the year’s top destinations.

Ray Pedersen, president of Princess Tours, told Travel Weekly, national publication of the travel industry, that Expo 86 is a “driving force” in stimulating travel to Alaska this year.

More cruise ships than ever will be cruising Alaska waters this summer, and will lure passengers with the incentive of using their stateroom instead of trying to find hotel accommodations as a base for touring Expo.

The ships will dock at Canada Place, harbor-front site of the Canadian Pavilion and only four minutes by the high-tech Tomorrow Train from the Expo Center site downtown.

By latest count 13 cruise lines and 22 ships will sail from Vancouver and up through the Inside Passage to Alaskan ports.

Here in Anchorage, the city’s effort to become the host for the 1992 Winter Olympics has already had an impact on tourism. A doubling of exhibition space at the Fine Arts and Historical Museum has drawn an increasing number of visitors to a showcase of Alaskan arts, and a $57-million performing arts center is on the rise.

‘Banana Belt’ Climate

Anchorage, with a population of 244,000, tempts visitors with its summer “Banana Belt” climate on the gulf coast.

Smaller Alaska cities and villages are making their own contributions this summer to the Olympian image of Alaska. The town of Saxman south of Ketchikan will host a first-time ceremony on May 31. Five totem poles, carved by artist Nathan Jackson, will be raised in a ceremony never before open to the public because of its sacred symbolism.

Alaska’s Yukon is cooperating with Tourism British Columbia in the preparation and promotion of a “Top of the World” map and guidebook aimed at drawing recreational vehicles and other road traffic into independent explorations.

Viewing Glacier Bay

The vastness of Alaska surprises most visitors--more coastline than all the other 49 states put together. Glacier Bay, with the thunder of ice crashing into the water, becomes an other-world experience. A wilderness cruise from Juneau into Tracy Arm re-creates the fiords of Scandinavia. Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park soars to 20,320 feet.

Accommodations can vary from the comfortable Nugget Inn of Nome and the cozy Oceanview Bed and Breakfast home overlooking the Bering Sea to the five-star Captain Cook in Anchorage. As representative prices, we found doubles to start at $60 at Oceanview Manor, $95 at Nugget Inn and $96 at Captain Cook. Bed-and-breakfast inns around Anchorage generally are about half the price of top hotel rooms.

A Travel Bargain

Ferries of the Alaska Marine Highway continue to be a bargain as well as what we have found to be a delightfully informal cruise with many options. You can stop over at ports along the way and take your own vehicle, such as for driving the storied Klondike Highway. You can also combine ferry with bus, train or even bicycle travel.

The one-way passenger fare from Seattle to Skagway is $208. Staterooms are sold separately, with an outside two-berth room priced at $171. Vehicle rates from Seattle to Skagway depend on size. One up to 19 feet would be $624. For information and reservations call the Marine Highway System’s Seattle office toll-free at (800) 544-2251.

For help in planning an Alaska trip, write to the Alaska Division of Tourism, P.O. Box E, Juneau, Alaska 99811.

As an overview of the many vistas, tours and varied options for travel in our 49th state, we can recommend “Alaska for the Independent Traveler,” a 1986 Alaska vacation planner available from Exploration Holidays and Cruises through your travel agent. Ask your agent also about new fares and packages from the airlines, which carry about 52% of travelers to Alaska.

Western Airlines has just announced a special Los Angeles, Anchorage, Honolulu round-trip fare of $771, effective April 16 to Dec. 15.