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Travel Like a Local
Travel Like a Local How businesses are making Alaska a year-round destination
By Vanessa Orr
Alaska is a wonderful place to live year-round, but most people who choose to visit come during the warmer summer months. While this is a big boost to the economy, some companies are encouraging travelers to come earlier and stay
longer, creating more lucrative shoulder seasons in April, May, September, and October.
The Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) promotes the state as a yearround destination, and that includes attracting visitors during the shoulder seasons. “If we can get people to visit at this time of year, it really benefits
Alaska is a year-round destination— and visitors can even fish in the winter.
© Matt Hage | State of Alaska
our communities and businesses,” explains Sarah Leonard, ATIA president and CEO. “Businesses can stay open longer, which makes them available to residents as well as visitors. And if the Alaska tourism industry strengthens our year-round visitor numbers, it also allows these businesses to hire more residents, generating more economic
There are many reasons why visitors might want to come to Alaska when it’s not teeming with tourists—especially if the point of their vacation is to get away from it all. Restaurants and shops are far less crowded. And there’s less competition when it comes to seeing Alaska in its natural state.
UnCruise Adventures has made a point of marketing to the shoulder season traveler. Their “Alaska Awakening” campaign, launched two years ago, invites visitors to enjoy a more intimate experience in the great outdoors.
“We have always operated a little earlier than most cruise lines, offering trips throughout Southeast Alaska from early April to the third week of May— before most passengers and cruise lines have even considered coming to Alaska,” says Tim Jacox, the company’s president and CEO.
“It can be an amazing experience
to be the only visitors in this massive wilderness; imagine being one of only ninety guests in the middle of Glacier Bay when no one else is around,” he says. “We get into remote channels and islands and back bays like nobody else can, and guests have it all to themselves. They can go kayaking and hiking and really get that Alaskan experience.”
Jacox adds that visitors may also see the Northern Lights, which can only be seen from late August through April, or spot the gray whales that migrate from Mexico to the Bering Sea only at this time of year.
In the state’s urban areas, there’s literally more shoulder room to be had during shoulder seasons.
“Girdwood is a really cool place, and it’s nice to experience it when it’s quieter and more relaxed,” says Ben Napolitano, director of marketing for Alyeska Resort and the Hotel Alyeska. “You can walk into a restaurant, like Jack Sprat, without a reservation. And hiking trails like Winner Creek don’t have nearly as many people. The hotel is also less full, and it’s a lot more relaxing to spend time in the pool and
Sarah Leonard President/CEO, ATIA
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The weather is often beautiful in the spring and fall, making it perfect for hiking before the trails get too crowded.
Tim Jacox President/CEO, UnCruise Adventures
“If you’re looking to get away and spend time in the mountains, the shoulder season is a really good time,” he adds.
The weather can also be quite nice, especially compared to this summer’s record-breaking temperatures.
“Not only is Juneau less crowded, but we usually have really pretty weather in Southeast in April and May,” says Liz Perry, president and CEO of Travel Juneau. “We get a number of warm days, and April through June tends to be a little drier. It’s also a great time to score lower-priced hotel rooms.”
Travelers on a budget can benefit from visiting at this time of year. Cruise lines offer more deals in the shoulder season, and independent travelers can also find discounts on ATIA’s site, TravelAlaska.com.
Alyeska begins offering shoulder season discounts as soon as the ski season ends, from around the third weekend of April to the third week in May.
“We transition to the shoulder season when guests can’t get on the mountain
and we don’t offer skiing and before the cruise ships come in,” Napolitano says. “We offer a really discounted room rate, which we market heavier to Alaskans because most tourists aren’t traveling at that time.” While rates fluctuate, past prices have included a $99 per night mid-week special, with a $109 room rate on weekends.
UnCruise Adventures also offers value season pricing during the shoulder seasons, which is attractive to prospective travelers. “We made some good headway with our Alaska Awakening concept; April and early May of 2018 saw a 31 percent increase in passenger numbers over 2017,” says Jacox, adding that September has always been fairly strong for the company, which is moving toward 75 percent occupancy during the last part of the season.
Plan Wisely
www.akbizmag.com Denali, are not open year-round, so it’s important that visitors know the limitations before booking a shoulder season trip.
“During the heavy tourist season, we book lot of activities through our concierge, but some of those activities, like flightseeing, are closed during the shoulder season,” says Napolitano. “Denali is closed after the second weekend in September.
“If you’re writing a novel, October is a cool time to visit, but it’s not if you want to rent Jet Skis,” he adds. “You need to be realistic about your expectations and look at what you want to do versus what you are able to do.”
For this reason, Alyeska markets mainly to locals during this time of year, as they are more likely to book at the last minute. “People from the Lower 48 tend to book well in advance and do a lot of planning for their trips,” explains Napolitano. “Alaskans might just decide to get a hotel room to attend a concert at Bear Tooth; it’s one of the reasons we focus on locals and markets with direct flights for that time period.”
While many tour operators and stores are closed during the shoulder season, some companies, like UnCruise Adventures, have arranged for local businesses to open their doors for their guests.
“When our guests embark and disembark in Juneau, a couple of gift shops open up especially for us,” says Jacox. “The Mt. Roberts Tram also opens on days when we’re in port.” According to Perry, one of the reasons that more businesses aren’t open in the shoulder season is that staffing becomes a problem. Collegeaged employees are still in school in April or are returning to school after the last cruise ship leaves. “A lot of companies are also doing staffing and training in early spring, so they aren’t open for business,” she says.
Even businesses that might want to expand their seasons have limitations, such as larger cruise ship companies that require more infrastructure than is available.
“UnCruise Adventures is unique because it is able to operate when other cruise lines cannot because of its smaller ship and passenger size,” says Jacox. “We only carry twenty-two to ninety guests on each boat, and we
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don’t require longshoremen or group buses. Larger cruise ships are also completing trips to other destinations, so they are not free to move their boats into Alaska that early.”
Because many cruise lines sell vertically, all of their components need to be in place before setting sail. In the case of cruise companies that offer Denali bus tours as part of their packages, for example, the company must wait until Denali opens on June 1.
Promoting a Four-Season State
While summer and winter are the most popular times for visitors, many communities are looking at opportunities to bring more travelers in during the shoulder seasons. “We promote Alaska as a year-round destination because we have activities for visitors at any time of the year,” says Leonard.
Northern Lights tours have become increasingly popular, especially for Asian visitors. While many come for the Chinese New Year in January, the aurora borealis can be seen from
“Girdwood is a really cool place, and it’s nice to experience it when it’s quieter and more relaxed. You can walk into a restaurant, like Jack Sprat, without a reservation."
Ben Napolitano Director of Marketing, Alyeska Resort
“Our 2017-2018 report shows that Alaska’s fall and winter volume is up more than 30 percent since 2008-
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2009, with the average annual growth rate for that time period just under 3 percent,” says Leonard, adding that winter tourism makes up 14 percent of the state’s annual visitor numbers. To this end, communities are hosting events designed to attract visitors during shoulder seasons and beyond. These include the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, both of which are held in March; shorebird festivals in April in Cordova, Homer, and on the Kenai Peninsula; and the Bald Eagle Festival in Haines and the Sitka Whalefest, both of which are held in November.
Alyeska Resort hosts a spring carnival in Girdwood in April, as well as a Mountain Bike festival and Oktoberfest in September. “We start seeing a little more traffic from the Lower 48 in fall, especially in September, which is usually amazing weather-wise,” says Napolitano. “We offer two weekends of biking at our Mountain Bike Festival, which brings a lot of people to our bike park for endurance and downhill racing, skills clinics, music, and events.”
Liz Perry President/CEO, Travel Juneau
Alyeska Resort’s Oktoberfest, held during the last two weekends of September, includes a hotel package with discounted room rates, food vouchers, and even a souvenir stein. “This is a super popular event that
attracts mostly Alaskans, but also some travelers from the Lower 48,” says Napolitano.
Along with marketing to residents and tourists, Travel Juneau also focuses heavily on the convention and meetings trade to bring people into the state during the off season.
“We consider this ‘Juneau Time,’ when people can come visit and live more like a local,” says Perry. “A lot of activities take place at this time of year, especially in fall, when Perseverance Theatre starts its season, the Juneau Symphony starts up, and visitors can attend performances by the Juneau Lyric Opera and Opera to Go. “We’re working on promotions to tie into art pieces, like First Fridays, the Juneau Public Market in November, Wearable Arts in February, and the Alaska Folk Festival in April,” she adds. “These are
great opportunities to come in for a long weekend.”
With travelers looking for more opportunities to come to Alaska, it makes perfect sense to provide them with reasons to arrive earlier and to stay longer. Early spring and late fall offer ideal opportunities for visitors to find out more about the Last Frontier in a less crowded, more laid-back, Alaskan way.
Many activities, such as kayaking, can be enjoyed during the shoulder seasons as well as during the summer.
© UnCruise Adventures
