Legislature(2011 - 2012)BARNES 124
02/01/2011 10:15 AM House ECON. DEV., TRADE & TOURISM
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Overviews: Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute - Alaska Travel Industry Association | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, INTERNATIONAL
TRADE AND TOURISM
February 1, 2011
10:18 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Bob Herron, Chair
Representative Kurt Olson, Vice Chair
Representative Neal Foster
Representative Cathy Engstrom Munoz
Representative Steve Thompson
Representative Peggy Wilson
Representative Berta Gardner
Representative Chris Tuck
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Wes Keller
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW(S): ALASKA SEAFOOD MARKETING INSTITUTE - ALASKA TRAVEL
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
RAY RIUTTA, Executive Director
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a PowerPoint presentation titled,
"Alaska Seafood Wild, Natural & Sustainable," dated 2/1/11.
RON PECK, President and Chief Operating Officer
Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Participated in a PowerPoint presentation
titled, "Alaska Beyond Your Dreams. Within Your Reach."
PATTI MACKEY, Chair
Board of Directors
Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA); Executive Director
Ketchikan Visitors Bureau
Ketchikan, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Participated in a PowerPoint presentation
titled, "Alaska Beyond Your Dreams. Within Your Reach."
ACTION NARRATIVE
10:18:21 AM
CHAIR BOB HERRON called the House Special Committee on Economic
Development, International Trade and Tourism meeting to order at
10:18 a.m. Representatives Herron, Tuck, Peggy Wilson, Munoz,
and Thompson were present at the call to order. Representatives
Olson and Foster arrived as the meeting was in progress.
^OVERVIEWS: ALASKA SEAFOOD MARKETING INSTITUTE - ALASKA TRAVEL
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
OVERVIEWS: ALASKA SEAFOOD MARKETING INSTITUTE - ALASKA TRAVEL
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
10:19:11 AM
CHAIR HERRON announced that the only order of business would be
overviews from the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) and
the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA). However, he
first invited Representative Tuck to speak on the subject of "a
missed opportunity for Alaska."
10:20:26 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK agreed it is appropriate for the committee
to address missed opportunities because they often happen due to
a lack of vision and direction. He shared his vision to turn
Alaska into a state with a smart economy, smart development, and
a smart educational system that will create physical wealth for
the state. Representative Tuck said he supports investments in
agriculture, because it is important to have an independent food
supply, and in infrastructure, because much of the reason
America became a world superpower was due to the impact of the
transcontinental railroads. Representative Tuck supported the
idea of building a railroad to Russia, and pointed out that the
building of Alaska began with a combination of the railroad, the
Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), and our constitution that
ensures Alaska is an owner-state. He opined that the cheapest
mode of international transportation is over water, followed by
railroad. His vision also includes turning Port MacKenzie into
an industrial park and continuing to support international
shipping through the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
and/or the Fairbanks International Airport; in fact, this would
provide Alaska with the cheapest modes of transportation - water
and rail - and the fastest mode of transportation - air freight.
Finally, Representative Tuck recommended following the example
set by Texas and California, states that invested not only in
science and technology through their university systems, but
also invested in materials development and in prototype
institutes, so that their recent graduates established
innovative businesses, as happened in the Silicon Valley and in
the petro-chemical industry in Texas. In fact, Texas received
the highest value for its oil because of the value-added
industry developed by the graduates from its educational system.
Representative Tuck expressed his hope that the committee will
provide a vision that will prevent future missed opportunities
in the state, and leadership out of the country's current
economic slump.
10:26:21 AM
RAY RIUTTA, Executive Director, Alaska Seafood Marketing
Institute (ASMI), informed the committee that ASMI has a very
broad reach, internationally and domestically, marketing Alaska
seafood around the world. He reminded the committee that it is
a state corporation and a partnership of public and private
sectors guided by a board of directors appointed by the
governor. He pointed out that ASMI's charter prohibits it from
marketing by individual brand or region; in fact, ASMI is the
brand manager for all of Alaska seafood. Mr. Riutta said the
most important part of ASMI's mission is its job to increase the
economic value of the Alaska seafood resource. The ASMI board
includes four large seafood processors, one small processor, two
fisherman, and four ex-officio members: Senator Gary Stevens;
Representative Bill Stoltze; Curtis Thayer, Deputy Director,
Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development
(DCCED); a representative from the governor's office. In
response to Chair Herron, he noted that the board of directors
used to have 25 members and he opined "it was a very good move,
reducing the size of the board."
10:30:40 AM
MR. RIUTTA, in further response to Chair Herron, explained that
board members' terms are for three years, and there is some
turnover of the board members almost every year. He returned to
his presentation and said ASMI is advised by the following
committees: four specie committees, representing the broad
spectrum of the fishing industry; operational committees, which
oversee marketing department budgets; customer advisory panel,
which is comprised of distributors from all over the world who
are brought in to advise ASMI on how to improve its work. The
panel includes retailers, food service distributors, broadline
distributors, and frozen food producers, four of whom are from
the U.S., and four from overseas. The panel meets once a year
to review ASMI's program and provide advice. One panel member
noted ASMI is unique in that it has the entire supply chain at
the advisory meetings, from the fishermen to the end-seller.
10:32:45 AM
CHAIR HERRON asked whether advisory meetings present any
surprises.
10:32:55 AM
MR. RIUTTA said no, although he was surprised by the unanimous
support for ASMI's independent, third-party certification of
Alaska's fisheries. At the March 2010, meeting the board and
the advisory panel reviewed new certifications by Global Trust
Certification Ltd., and past certifications by the Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC), and urged ASMI to pursue an
alternative. He then furnished an organization chart for ASMI
and noted that international programs are managed from the
Juneau office and domestic programs are managed from the office
in Seattle. A slide titled, "ASMI FY 2012 Governor's Budget,"
indicated there are three components to the budget; a voluntary
industry assessment of $7,200,000, a state general fund match of
$6,500,000, and an U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Market
Access Program (MAP) contribution of $5,000,000. He explained
that the federal funds are competitive between industries and
require a match from the state along with industry in-kind
contributions. The MAP funds are used for overseas marketing
and ASMI is required to report to the USDA Foreign Agriculture
Service (FAS), which controls the program.
10:36:55 AM
MR. RIUTTA, in response to Chair Herron, confirmed there has
been an official invitation for the governor to attend the
European Seafood Exposition in Brussels, Belgium. He then
displayed a chart which indicated that in 2009, the fishing
industry paid a total of $103 million in taxes, fees, and self-
assessments. Turning to the subject of economic development, he
advised that developing new markets, and increasing the value of
existing markets, leads directly to economic development; for
example, increased salmon prices give opportunities to fisheries
that have not been economical before - such as pink and chum
salmon - because of low demand. The institute also provides
education to all who handle fish, from the fisherman to the
waiter or fish monger. With proper handling the value of fish
is increased, and ASMI even extends education on how to care for
the product to air cargo operators. Another facet of economic
development is further investment in the international food aid
program that began with marketing canned salmon, and now may
extend to herring.
10:41:09 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER asked what kind economic development
effort is being made in Western Alaska.
10:41:34 AM
MR. RIUTTA reiterated that ASMI is restricted to marketing the
state in general; however, it does put an emphasis on regions as
much as possible to help with marketing opportunities. In
further response, he confirmed that one board member is from the
lower Yukon area.
10:42:41 AM
MR. RIUTTA continued with his presentation and stressed that
seafood is a renewable resource that keeps on giving, as long as
the fisheries are properly managed. Alaska is a global player
in seafood; in fact, if Alaska were a country, it would be in
the top 10 of seafood producing nations. Alaska produces 50-60
percent of national seafood production, and 2 percent of
worldwide seafood production. Additionally, the industry
employs over 50,000 people in the commercial fishing and seafood
processing sector. Indirectly, the seafood industry also
benefits the shipping industry and keeps shipping prices lower
to Alaskans. In many coastal communities, seafood is the only
industry, reduces the cost of utilities, and provides critical
infrastructure and jobs.
10:45:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER asked what percentage of the 50,000
seafood industry employees are Alaskans.
10:46:15 AM
MR. RIUTTA estimated about 50 percent; as a matter of fact, the
latest figures show that 6,877 permit holders, 10,000
crewmembers, and 6,956 workers in the processing sector are
Alaska residents. He then displayed a slide titled, "Value and
Volume of Alaska Salmon." For background information, he
recalled that in 2002 the Joint Legislative Salmon Industry Task
Force was formed to explore ways to support the weakening salmon
industry. From the task force came new incentives for the
industry to change "product-form" and reinvest in processing
plants, and a complete change to the structure of ASMI. As a
result, although harvest levels fluctuate, ex-vessel numbers
remain level, and are expected to increase, because the salmon
industry was changed to a modern industry that provides new,
value-added products. As an example, he pointed out that the
pink salmon industry began a shift from about 70 percent canned
and 20 percent frozen fillets in 1998, to about 60 percent
canned and 40 percent frozen fillets in 2010. After the
product-form shift to frozen, values went up; in fact, around
2008, the value of canned and frozen salmon began to climb from
about 10 cents to 35 cents, and the value of Alaska's largest
fishery remains high. He said, "There are other examples like
this, but I thought I would give you this one just [to] ... show
you the impact of what economic incentive and developing new
product forms for the industry brings to the table."
10:50:29 AM
MR. RIUTTA, in response to Chair Herron, indicated that the pink
salmon market varies, but at this time a lot of canned pink
salmon is going to the southeastern U.S., and fillets and salmon
burgers are marketed by Costco Wholesale Corporation and
Denney's Restaurants. He attributed this increasing market to
the "COOK IT FROZEN" campaign begun in 2004 that educated chefs
and restaurants to the fact that frozen fish is sometimes better
than fresh fish that has been around awhile. This has been
effective to counter marketing by the suppliers of farmed
salmon, and has changed the perception of frozen seafood. In
response to Representative Tuck, he affirmed that Target Brands,
Inc. is selling wild Alaska seafood exclusively at all of its
stores.
10:53:22 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER asked for seafood's "number one"
competitor.
10:53:32 AM
MR. RIUTTA said the highest sales are for Angus beef, and
seafood is second. Health publications encouraging the public
to eat more seafood may allow seafood to overtake beef in "the
number one spot." He noted that seafood is a success story: 76
percent of diners prefer to eat wild, naturally-caught seafood
over farmed products; 82 percent of consumers say that seeing
the Alaska Seafood logo would increase their likelihood to
purchase. Major challenges to the Alaska seafood industry are:
the global recession has hurt prices for cod and other species;
Russian productions of salmon and pollock have increased; Norway
is aggressively pursuing the U.S. market; confusion over eco-
labels; pressure to reduce USDA Market Access Program.
10:55:34 AM
CHAIR HERRON asked how Alaska should address the tariff that
Norway is urging Congress to eliminate.
10:55:46 AM
MR. RIUTTA expressed his belief that the tariff was levied to
protect American farmed salmon producers. He will research the
issue.
10:56:21 AM
CHAIR HERRON then asked about ASMI's concerns about eco-labels.
10:56:49 AM
MR. RIUTTA acknowledged that eco-labels have drawn attention to
overfishing that occurs in parts of the world; however, those
who assign the labels can become too powerful and gain control
of the marketplace. This concern was broached by ASMI's
advisory panel because a certain eco-label is not needed, but
what is needed is proof that the fish are from a sustainable and
managed fishery.
10:57:49 AM
CHAIR HERRON expressed his understanding that the danger "is if
you don't pay this fee to this eco-label organization, then
they'll work against you."
10:58:21 AM
MR. RIUTTA, in response to Representative Gardner, said
Norwegian salmon for market is all farmed salmon. He turned to
the subject of "Seafood Trends" and said people are beginning to
eat more seafood, domestically and internationally, and
consumers want to know its source. "Wild" and "natural" are
great descriptors when they describe Alaska seafood, and he
anticipated "a good opportunity to see our, the value of our
seafood continue to rise ... particularly as the economies begin
to recover." Mr. Riutta described ASMI's participation in the
Boston Food and Wine Show, which is the largest in the country.
In response to Chair Herron, he said the competition for Alaska
seafood at the food show was "just about every other protein
product on the market." In fact, the seafood industry competes,
not just with farmed salmon, but with beef, pork, and chicken.
International marketing by ASMI includes activities in Japan,
Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, and Brazil.
11:01:06 AM
CHAIR HERRON asked for the visual image of Alaska that has the
most impact.
11:01:13 AM
MR. RIUTTA opined consumers are drawn to Alaska, because Alaska
is seen as a beautiful and clean place producing wild and
natural products. He said, "We tag that with our seafood, [and]
it makes our seafood extra special." Mr. Riutta restated the
importance of the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels and
noted that $48 million in sales were garnered at the 2010 show
and $500 million in sales will follow for the year after. In
conclusion, he related that ASMI recognizes the value in
marketing more than seafood, but all Alaska products, and it
searches for ways to work with the Alaska Travel Industry
Association (ATIA), Alaska Grown, and other Alaska producers,
looking for opportunities to share marketing experiences and
activities. For example, ASMI requires chefs participating in
the Great American Seafood Cook-off to feature other Alaska-
grown products, such as the Alaskan Brewing Company. He also
mentioned co-hosting with ATIA an event in England, showing off
Alaska travel, seafood, and other products.
11:04:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER asked for a synopsis on how success is
measured for each of ASMI's programs such as domestic retail,
domestic foodservice, international, and technical.
11:05:26 AM
MR. RIUTTA offered to provide written measures as required by
regulation; however, he opined that the most important measure
is the satisfaction of its members. He said, "Our industry has
the ability to actually vote out their assessment any time they
want ... we pass a market test every year. If they don't ...
retain us, or decide to vote us out, then we fail miserably."
11:06:16 AM
CHAIR HERRON asked ASMI to showcase value-added manufacturers in
communities represented by committee members.
11:06:56 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 11:06 a.m. to ll:08 a.m.
11:08:24 AM
RON PECK, President and Chief Operating Officer, Alaska Travel
Industry Association (ATIA), informed the committee he has been
involved in the tourism industry for thirty-three years and has
been the president of ATIA for eight and one-half years. He
introduced the chair of the ATIA board of directors, Patti
Mackey.
11:09:54 AM
PATTI MACKEY, chair, board of directors, Alaska Travel Industry
Association (ATIA) and Executive Director, Ketchikan Visitors
Bureau, stated she would discuss the programs that are in place
to market Alaska as a world-class visitor destination, as well
as ATIA's concerns for the future of the industry. Over the
last 15 years there have been cyclical changes in the industry
as a result of economic factors caused by a variety of reasons.
Additionally, the size of the tourism industry in Alaska has
contracted. As the trade association administering the
marketing program for Alaska tourism, ATIA wants to put tourism
on a path that fosters recovery and growth. To do this ATIA
urges the funding of a sustained marketing budget of a minimum
of $20 million per year. Ms. Mackey provided a brief history of
the organization from 1988 to 2004. Today ATIA operates under
arrangements set forth by the Millennium Plan of 1999. The
association is a non-profit trade association governed by a
board of directors, funded by the legislature, and with
oversight provided through the Department of Commerce, Community
& Economic Development (DCCED). The Millennium Plan also
directs that the tourism industry contribute to the support of
ATIA and voluntary contributions are made by tourism businesses,
destination marketing organizations, and major cruise lines in
order to match the state's annual appropriations.
11:13:07 AM
MS. MACKEY, in response to Chair Herron, explained that ATIA's
change from a state-run tourism office to a qualified trade
organization began with the intent to direct more funds to
marketing. In further response, she opined the industry also
wanted a private entity, non-profit organization directing the
funds. Until 2004, local governments were collecting fees and
occupancy taxes; in 2004, the vehicle rental tax (VRT) was
imposed, followed by a variety of statewide fees, taxes, and
regulations assessed to the cruise industry with the passage of
Ballot Measure 2 in 2006. Ms. Mackey said voluntary dollars to
match state tourism dollars were affected by increased statewide
taxation of the industry. In 2008, the dollar-to-dollar match
was reduced to a 30 percent match program with a FY 11 sunset
provision that intended to give the travel industry time to
develop a program to sustain marketing funds. Presently, the
recession and other factors have led to an end of growth in the
tourism economy. The cruise industry faltered in 2010, which
led to the amendment of the Commercial Passenger Services Act
and a reinvestment of $7 million to tourism-related revenue.
Today, the visitor industry is forecast to contribute $116.8
million to state revenue in FY 12. Ms. Mackey said ATIA
believes that tourism revenue can increase in the future with
reinvestment in a tourism market program.
11:16:02 AM
MR. PECK presented Alaska's FY 11 Tourism Marketing Plan. He
informed the committee that the state marketing budget was $11.7
million for the past several years. The bulk of the additional
$7 million for FY 11 is being spent on marketing to consumers in
the U.S., although some will reach overseas and to the travel
trade. In fact, $13 million will be directed to consumer
marketing such as television, direct mail, magazine, and on-line
advertising, and to public relations. Another $3.5 million will
be spent on the travel trade, international marketing, in-state
awareness, and fulfillment. Lastly, about $700,000 will be
spent on marketing research to ensure advertising is effective.
Mr. Peck advised the additional funding has allowed ATIA to
strengthen its television presence. The television advertising
budget has remained at about $1 million since FY 02, and the
additional funds have allowed for the creation of five new
television "spots" and expansion to additional cable channels.
Constructing the new commercials began with research and
testing, and he pointed out that Alaska companies filmed and
developed the television spots. Research has proven that the
new commercials and the frequency of their airing have had a
positive impact on the marketplace. Mr. Peck noted that members
have been provided with copies of three of the four commercials.
11:19:54 AM
MR. PECK assured the committee that the new advertisements raise
consumers' awareness of Alaska; in fact, consumers were asked
what travel ads they remembered and prior to the release of the
new ads, ranked Alaska number 10 amongst different destinations.
In January, after the release of the ads, Alaska was rated
number 6, before California, Orlando, Jamaica, and the Bahamas.
Regarding the perception of Alaska, 79 percent of respondents
had a positive opinion of Alaska's advertising. Mr. Peck
concluded that ATIA is "communicating a message that is on
target." He furnished a graph that indicated the new high-
definition, quality commercials are raising the awareness and
image of Alaska, and are inspiring future visits by travelers.
Other consumer marketing by ATIA includes: vacation planners
distributed to 550,000 potential visitors; TravelAlaska.com
website; magazine advertising in over 34 publications; direct
mail to 3,000,000 households; participation in consumer shows;
public relations and media campaigns. Two more key projects
made possible by the additional funding were coverage by The
Early Show on CBS, and comprehensive exposure in a national
magazine, Cooking with Paula Deen. He turned to the subject of
overseas and travel trade marketing, and noted Alaska is
represented by sales agents in the top three international
destinations of the United Kingdom, Australia, and German-
speaking Europe, in addition to the secondary markets of Taiwan
and Korea. International tour operators are also a source of
relationships, resources, and product offerings. Finally, ATIA
conducts familiarization tours for international and domestic
tour operators. Mr. Peck also spoke of the importance of the
ASMI and ATIA partnership and listed their most recent
collaborations: vacation planner advertising; Alaska Media Road
Show; National Tour Association event; London event.
11:26:14 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked for the parameters of the advertising
effectiveness study.
11:26:36 AM
MR. PECK recalled the time parameters were October and January,
and he offered to provide the number of participants in the on-
line study. In further response to Representative Tuck, Mr.
Peck said requests for proposal (RFP's) were issued to select
the firm of Jerry Henry & Associates to conduct the studies.
11:27:32 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER asked Mr. Peck to provide statistics on
increases in visitations due to the reduction of the cruise ship
tax.
11:28:35 AM
MR. PECK advised that 1.7 million visitors made 2008 a record
year. In 2009, there was a loss of independent travelers. The
cruise industry announced its intention to reposition ships, but
this did not affect the local tourism industry until the 2010
season. Thus, the reduction of about 100,000 visitors in 2009
was in independent, highway, and air travelers, and in the
average amount of visitor expenditures. This past year, there
was a reduction of cruise visitors by 140,000 - due to the
redeployed ships - and a slight increase in independent
travelers.
11:30:28 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER surmised the numbers include cruise ship,
air, and highway travelers. He recalled his support of the
cruise ship tax reduction.
11:31:25 AM
MR. PECK reported that at least one additional ship is returning
in 2012, and ATIA projects an increase of 7,500 deployments for
2011.
11:31:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON asked whether the percentage of cruise
visitors who also book land tours is down because of the
economy.
11:32:38 AM
MR. PECK said yes. A secondary reason for the decrease is that
the number of gulf-crossing customers dropped dramatically which
affected Southcentral and the Railbelt corridor.
11:33:09 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER pointed out her constituents in the
tourism industry are involved mostly with independent travelers.
She asked how advertising efforts are focused on independent
travelers, and said, "Do we have any way of knowing, for example
with your TV ad campaign ... what percentage of them are
impacted to travel independently or with a cruise ship, or we
have a mix."
11:34:52 AM
MR. PECK assured the committee that ATIA does everything it can
with its commercials to "spread the word about all the variety
of types of activities and experiences that you can have in
Alaska." In further response to Representative Gardner, he said
a 2005-2006 study indicated the average independent traveler
spends slightly more money in Alaska than does a cruise ship
passenger. A new study on those figures is expected this year
as the ATIA believes the previous study is not accurate.
11:36:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER observed a cruise ship passenger's
expenses for room and board are paid to a corporation outside of
Alaska, whereas an independent traveler will pay those expenses
to an Alaskan business owner.
11:37:14 AM
MR. PECK advised the new study will research "what you'll spend
in the state of Alaska." He clarified that the overall average
expenditure is "somewhere in the vicinity of $935 as of that
original study in 2005."
11:38:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked for further clarification.
11:38:28 AM
MR. PECK said, "The research that we do specifically calls out
'exclusive of you traveling on a cruise or taking an airplane to
get here, how much money did you spend when you were here?'" He
added that for a cruise visitor, that would be how much was
spent on a shore excursion, or if their stay was extended into
Western Alaska.
11:39:16 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked for further information on what
cruise lines reduced ships and visits.
11:39:31 AM
MR. PECK offered to provide that information. In further
response to Representative Tuck, he explained that independent
and business visitors are identified by studying annual
intercept surveys conducted by Department of Commerce, Community
& Economic Development (DCCED). In response to Representative
Munoz, Mr. Peck said that one in four of returning tourists, not
on a cruise, first visited Alaska on a cruise ship.
11:40:53 AM
REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON asked Mr. Peck to compare the use of
Alaska's advertising dollars with that of other states.
11:41:11 AM
MR. PECK opined Alaska cannot promote travel to regional or
"short-haul" traffic, as do Washington and Oregon, but the two
states with "long-haul" destinations are Hawaii and Alaska.
Hawaii gets seven million visitors per year and its annual
marketing budget is over $80 million. For Alaska, ATIA believes
$20 million is the right number.
11:42:29 AM
MS. MACKEY added that ATIA believes that the $7 million increase
in funds for marketing will result in 77,000 additional visitors
in 2011, and will support the reinstatement of jobs in the
tourism industry. The industry is encouraged by an expected 5
percent increase in Alaska tourism, which is greater than the
prediction of 2.6 percent growth across the U.S. She reviewed
the losses of past years and cautioned that if the industry is
again required to abide by the original Millennium Plan match -
essentially a dollar-to-dollar match - the gains made this year
will be lost. She expressed her hope that the legislature will
take into consideration the amount of state revenue, such as VRT
and cruise ship fees that can be attributed to the travel
industry, and will work with the industry to develop a way to
sustain funding at an effective level.
11:46:56 AM
CHAIR HERRON observed that committee members are interested in
the marketing of Alaska. He asked for ATIA's plan to maintain
the funding match with the state.
11:47:45 AM
MS. MACKEY said:
I believe very strongly ... that it's time to really
think through the Millennium Plan today, based on the
changes that we've seen that are affecting our
industry, and the way that revenues are now being
diverted that we were using for that match into actual
state taxes and fees.
MS. MACKEY then requested new or revised legislation to
determine what the marketing program dollars will be each year.
Failing that, she supported continuing the match at the 30
percent level.
11:49:12 AM
CHAIR HERRON suggested this committee is a good place to "build"
legislation regarding the funding of tourism marketing, and he
challenged the industry to so.
11:50:20 AM
MS. MACKEY agreed to work with the committee on legislation.
11:50:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK observed that tax credit incentives support
businesses such as the film industry. He encouraged the
committee to find ways to market tourism and the hospitality
industry year around.
11:52:23 AM
CHAIR HERRON thanked the presenters.
11:52:49 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Economic Development, International Trade
and Tourism meeting was adjourned at 11:52 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| House Econ. Dev. Committee.ppt |
HEDT 2/1/2011 10:15:00 AM |
|
| House Economic Development Trade & Tourism Committee 020111 Handouts.ppt |
HEDT 2/1/2011 10:15:00 AM |