A recovery year for Alaska tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022-23 tourism season still made a significant economic impact in the state.
According to the Alaska Travel Industry Association’s (ATIA) Tourism Impact Report for 2022-2023, conducted by Destination Analysts, Alaska’s visitors directly spent approximately $3.9 billion in the state between May 2022 and April 2023, with a total economic impact of $5.6 billion.
During this timeframe, the travel industry supported 43,661 jobs in the state.
Funded by a U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant designated to ATIA by Governor Mike Dunleavy, this research found that Alaska hosted 2.7 million visitors between May 2022 and April 2023.
“We’ve always known tourism is an important economic driver in our state,” ATIA President and CEO Jillian Simpson said. “This new data shows just how essential our industry is to the state’s economy and helps put in perspective the necessity of planning for tourism growth.”
Many factors played into tourism’s overall recovery during the study’s timeframe, such as the rebound of Alaska’s cruise industry and a healthy independent travel market.
As 2023 visitor data is made available in the new year, ATIA will have additional insights into the continued growth and impact of the tourism industry in the state.
Alaska Travel Industry Association, www.alaskatia.org