Candice McDonald

Salmon Berry Travel & Tours punches above its weight class. For two years in a row, Alaska Business readers ranked it as the top travel and tour company in the state, above global cruise titan Holland America & Princess. Ironically, founder Candice McDonald started in the tourism industry by working for Holland America. In 2005, she spun off her own venture, offering bite-sized day trips out of Anchorage.

Mandy Garcia manages sales and marketing while McDonald handles operations. Running a fleet of tour vehicles is a natural fit for McDonald, whose family was in the trucking business.

That first year, McDonald and her mother made salmonberry jam for each customer. That perk turned out to be unsustainable, but it’s the kind of hands-on detail that McDonald loves. She’d like to run a restaurant, too, but she’s too busy with Salmon Berry’s affiliated hotel, the Copper Whale Inn, originally a historic house in Downtown Anchorage.

The inn is a heavy hitter, too, ranked shoulder to shoulder with the Hotel Captain Cook and Alyeska Resort among the best Alaska lodgings.

The key to success, McDonald says, is a whole lot of patience and cheerfulness.

Alaska Business: What do you do in your free time?

Candice McDonald: I do a lot of things that my kids want to do. There seems to be a minimum of two birthday parties every weekend.

AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn?

McDonald: Parenting [she laughs]. I always wish I had it handled.

AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?

McDonald: I’ve done the Kilimanjaro climb… That was a bit above my athletic skill level. I’ve also done a trek in Machu Picchu.

AB: What are you superstitious about?

McDonald: I’m a bit superstitious about Mercury being in retrograde. I try to blame all of my immense frustrations on whether that is going on or not.

AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant?

McDonald: South Restaurant… That one has the best gin and tonic menu.

AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform live in concert?

McDonald: Elton John.

AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?

McDonald: I do spend an exorbitant amount of money on travel, and I do a lot of late-night Amazon shopping, which maybe is normal but I know mine might be at an abnormal level.

AB: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute?

McDonald: I think my best attribute is friendliness. I really like to get along with everyone, and I try to be as outgoing as possible, though that is sometimes hard. My worst attribute is holding a grudge… The “letting it go” skill is something I’m working on.