HR 9: Establishing a House Task Force on Tourism Marketing.
00HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 9 01 Establishing a House Task Force on Tourism Marketing. 02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: 03 WHEREAS tourism is the state's fastest growing industry and the second largest 04 private sector employer in Alaska, creating 15,300 primary year-round jobs and affecting 05 another 52,000 jobs; and 06 WHEREAS tourism draws over 1,000,000 visitors a year to Alaska and generates 07 $1,600,000,000 in annual revenue, including $123,000,000 in state and local taxes; and 08 WHEREAS state funding for tourism promotion has declined each year from 09 $10,000,000 in FY 90 to $5,300,000 today; and 10 WHEREAS media and promotion costs are rising sharply, and other states and 11 countries are competing for visitors and increasing their tourism marketing efforts; and 12 WHEREAS cooperative marketing benefits all communities and businesses, 13 particularly small businesses that cannot afford national advertising on their own; and 14 WHEREAS marketing efforts are currently shared and coordinated by the division of
01 tourism, Department of Commerce and Economic Development; the Alaska Visitor 02 Association; and the Alaska Tourism Marketing Council; and 03 WHEREAS declining state funds prompt a need to review the public and private 04 marketing efforts of the state's major tourism trade organizations; and 05 WHEREAS there exist in other states and Canada tourism marketing models to review 06 before restructuring the state's public and private tourism marketing efforts; and 07 WHEREAS it is critical that a variety of industry and state perspectives be involved 08 in restructuring future tourism promotions; and 09 WHEREAS the state needs to ensure that public funds benefit state residents to the 10 maximum extent possible in terms of jobs and revenue generated inside the state; 11 BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives that the House Task Force on 12 Tourism Marketing is established to study the alternatives for structuring and funding tourism 13 marketing in the state and to recommend the best possible public and private structure and 14 funding mechanism for tourism marketing for the state; and be it 15 FURTHER RESOLVED that the speaker of the House of Representatives shall 16 appoint from the House of Representatives three members of the majority and two members 17 of the minority to serve as members of the task force, and a person from the Alaska Tourism 18 Marketing Council and a person from the Division of Tourism in the Department of 19 Commerce and Economic Development to serve as ex-officio members of the task force; and 20 be it 21 FURTHER RESOLVED that the speaker of the House of Representatives shall 22 designate a member to chair the House Task Force on Tourism Marketing; and be it 23 FURTHER RESOLVED that the House Task Force on Tourism Marketing may meet 24 during and after the Second Session and any other sessions of the Twentieth Alaska State 25 Legislature and shall report to the House of Representatives before the convening of the First 26 Session of the Twenty-First Alaska State Legislature; and be it 27 FURTHER RESOLVED that the House Task Force on Tourism Marketing is 28 terminated on the convening of the First Session of the Twenty-First Alaska State Legislature.