Final week I manned a sales space at a conference commerce present in Sitka.
The Alaska Journey Trade Affiliation’s end-of-season meetup gives insiders a sneak peek at a number of the new journey choices across the state.
There’s one occasion referred to as the “Shark Tank,” based mostly on the favored TV present. Right here, journey and tourism enterprise leaders take into account new concepts from Alaska entrepreneurs.
Ryne Olson of Chena Out of doors Collective in Fairbanks desires to develop what she calls “reindeer tourism.”
“Reindeer have a novel historical past in Alaska,” mentioned Olson.
Olson is better-known as a musher who has fielded groups within the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest.
“We’re already providing brief walks with the reindeer for $65 per individual,” she mentioned.
However Olson desires to supply extra choices, together with sleigh rides with reindeer, backpacking journeys and a “vacation spot” setting for bigger teams.
Her aim is to make the Chena Out of doors Collective a hub for reindeer tourism.
Haley Johnston has guided wilderness journeys for greater than 10 years. Now, although, she has her personal firm referred to as Tundra Travels.
Johnston makes a speciality of backpacking journeys in a few of Alaska’s extra distant areas: the Arctic Nationwide Wildlife Refuge and Gates of the Arctic Nationwide Park.
I requested her if she took teams down the scenic rivers in ANWR and Gates of the Arctic. “Oh sure,” she mentioned. “I’ve led these journeys. However we’re hikers, not floaters,” she mentioned with a smile.
As she constructed out her journeys, she added parts that had been essential for her. She needed her guides to be year-round Alaska residents. Additionally, she needed to develop a mannequin to donate a considerable sum to nonprofit organizations dedicated to conservation.
Johnston got here to the Shark Tank to assist fund extra tools for extra guides to supply extra journeys.
Down in Juneau, Peter Nave has adopted the story at Eaglecrest Ski Space. Eaglecrest just lately bought a gondola to take guests up the mountain year-round.
Nave thought Eaglecrest could be an excellent web site for a “by way of ferrata,” which he calls a “mixture between mountaineering and mountain climbing.”
Extra particularly, a by way of ferrata is a course over steep, uncovered mountain routes utilizing fastened cable, chains and ladders. Actually translated as “iron method,” climbers placed on a harness and make their method by means of the course.
“Our proposed course is a couple of half-mile and it will be very family-friendly,” mentioned Nave.
Nave nonetheless is understanding some particulars with Eaglecrest, however seems to be ahead to providing an “expertise steeped in mountain tradition.”
Capt. Jack Finnegan has provided fishing journeys in Ketchikan for a few years. However Finnegan additionally has years of expertise working with adults experiencing quite a lot of disabilities.
These two skillsets lastly mashed up in Finnegan’s head when it turned apparent that his fishing boats weren’t wheelchair-accessible. The thought for “Fishability Alaska” was born.
Finnegan’s quest is to assemble a customized boat with accessibility as a core design element. Vacationers utilizing wheelchairs are only one set of holiday makers. “Not all disabilities are seen,” mentioned Flannigan. “Typically guests with disabilities contains listening to or imaginative and prescient impediments, or PTSD,” he mentioned. “Many vacationers are on the autism spectrum.”
Flannigan has some good tales about serving to blind guests catch fish. However with the bow lander on his boat-of-dreams, he may run up on the seaside so people may go beachcombing, tide-pooling or discover wilderness trails on a far-off island.
The viewers in attendance on the tourism Shark Tank was listening rigorously. Most of the concepts offered provided utterly new classes for vacationers, such because the by way of ferrata and reindeer backpacking journeys.
This made it tough for the judges to decide on winners, who obtained between $8,000 and $10,000 towards their thought.
“These entrepreneurs are actually placing their hearts on the market,” mentioned Dale Wade, director of selling on the Alaska Railroad. “There’s an software course of, then pre-session vetting and eventually the presentation on the present. I actually admire them.”
Winners of the Shark Tank competitors embody Ryne Olson and her mountaineering reindeer, in addition to Haley Johnston and her Arctic backpacking firm. Judges based mostly their determination partially on how a lot of a distinction the Shark Tank funding would make within the general success.
A lot of the Shark Tank members had been concerned in quite a lot of different fundraising, together with private financial savings, funds from mates and kin and different crowd-funding sources.
The Shark Tank contestants didn’t have a monopoly on new actions and adventures in Alaska. There are numerous new adventures, together with new cruises to new ports, a brand new emphasis on cultural tourism that includes Native Alaskans and new consideration on Alaska’s distinctive culinary choices, together with microbreweries.
The Alaska Journey Trade Affiliation hosts travelalaska.com, which produces an annual journey planner. It’s a brand new catalog of year-round excursions and adventures. A lot of the planners are despatched Outdoors to potential guests. However you’ll be able to order one for your self and begin planning a go to to some new components of Alaska.