Cruise Lines Score Win in Alaska

Looks like the tax the the government approved the tax to be lowered. And at the bottom of the article, it's rumored that Royal Caribbean is leaving the Port of Miami.

Cruise Lines Score Win in Alaska

Alaska's Senate has agreed to roll back a tax on cruise ship passengers that has angered the industry and led some lines to cut back on ships visiting the state.

The tax would be lowered o $34.50 from, according to news reports. The bill still must be approved by the Alaskan House.

The cruise industry has challenged the tax in federal court as an illegal entry tax and the Senate bill would reportedly settle the issue if enacted.

The Alaska Cruise Association said the state will see a 14.2 percent drop in cruise capacity this year, which is 140,000 passengers.

Association officials could not be reached immediately for comment, but the group's Web site noted: Miami-based Carnival Corp. & PLC (NYSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) previously stated that the move of Holland America's 1,270-passenger Ryndam to Europe in 2011 and Princess Cruises' 710-passenger Royal Princess to P&O Cruises were in line with the continued drop in Alaskan deployments.

Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) spokespersons did not have immediate comment on the bill's passage.

Richard Sasso, who leads the marketing committee for the Cruise Lines International Association in Fort Lauderdale, said: "We need to be careful that destinations don't underestimate the value of cruise ships going to destinations and the economic contribution that makes."

Overly aggressive taxation can put a burden on guests, adding to the cost of a cruise and generate concern among cruise operators that the taxes aren't justified, especially if the proceeds aren't being used to enhance infrastructure related to cruise ships, he said. "What happened in Alaska over the years is they escalated the tax to a point where it seemed to be not only unconstitutional but also not a favorable cost structure for cruise lines to wanting to operate there."

Maritime lawyer Jim Walker of Miami, who is critical of pollution caused by cruise ships in Alaska, wrote on his blog that the vote is a big win for Carnival and its subsidiaries.

In other news

USA Today's Gene Sloan has written an article about what he describes as "Royal Caribbean's slow-motion pullout" from its longtime hub at the Port of Miami.

His posting followed Royal Caribbean's announcement that the 3,634-passenger Liberty of the Seas will move to Port Everglades in November 2011.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, which is the world's largest cruise ship, is already based at Port Everglades and the sister ship, Allure of the Seas, will be based there later this year.

The tent-like roof of Royal Caribbean's terminal is a landmark at the Port of Miami, but Sloan noted the company will have only one ship left in Miami in the winter of 2011-2012.

Royal Caribbean can utilize the state-of-the art Terminal 18 at Port Everglades, which is the world's largest cruise terminal. Port Everglades officials have touted the port's next-door proximity to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as a key marketing advantage because it's the discount airline hub for South Florida.

Royal Caribbean's move may put pressure on the Port of Miami, which is contemplating building a new cruise terminal, as previously reported on Cruise Industry report.

The move could also enhance Port Everglades' efforts to challenge the Port of Miami as the world's busiest cruise port in upcoming years.

more on cruise passenger taxes

http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/040910/loc_img29_001.shtml

Web posted Friday, April 9, 2010

Lawmakers debate whether to slash cruise ship head tax

By Steve Quinn
For the Journal


A small aircraft taxis to port as two cruise ships sit at the docks in Juneau in this 2009 file photo. Lawmakers are debating whether to cut the cruise ship head tax, as tourism industry leaders say the higher rate is hurting business. File Photo/Melissa Campbell/AJOC

JUNEAU — It's always about money in the final weeks of the Legislative session, but it's not always about oil money.

In this case, the theme playing out in the waning days is the reprised debate over the cruise ship passenger head tax.

Depending on who is talking, the $50 tax that each passenger pays as part of voter approved ballot initiative should either be reduced, eliminated or left alone.

Further, some are willing to provide additional tax credits for marketing and local docking fees. Others aren't so sure.

Of the $50, tax opponents are looking to lower the $46 used for capital projects, primarily but not exclusively in port communities.

The other $4 is for environmental oversight and is not part of the debate.

There seems to be no consensus building in the finance committee rooms sitting on opposite ends of the fifth floor — known as the money floor.

The disparity of opinions grows with some calling for a change in when a tax cut would take effect or eliminating proposed tax credits that have no link to the 2006 initiative.

And the disagreement doesn't fall along party lines, either.

Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, made his interpretation of these bills abundantly clear to the administration during a finance committee hearing on a proposal by Gov. Sean Parnell.

"As I understand it, the bill by the governor is to overturn the efforts by the people," Thomas said, talking to Curtis Thayer, the states deputy commissioner for the Alaska Department of Commerce.

"What this does. . .." Thayer said.

"Yes, or no?" Thomas said. "Yes, or no?

"I know what you're trying to do," he continued. "It's reducing the head tax amount voted on by the people. I know it's been amended, but this is the meat of the whole initiative."

Meanwhile, fellow Republican Kyle Johansen, the House Majority Leader from Southeast port community of Ketchikan, said he would like the entire tax repealed.

"I can't tell you whether the tax makes a difference in whether people come or not," Johansen said. "But regardless of those arguments, there is no debate that it's money out of the pockets of people who spend money on tours and in stores helping our economy. It's better in the hands of the people rather than the government."

This has been an on-going debate since the initiative passed in 2006 and the tax was assessed in 2007.

But the issue started to pick up some traction in the Capitol last month when Parnell proposed reducing the tax to $34.50 after a meeting in Miami with industry executives.

It gained momentum last week when business leaders in the tourism industry descended on the Capitol looking to push their tax agenda.

Meanwhile a two-man team who drafted the approved initiative roamed the halls making their case as well.

The debate played out in separate finance committee hearings in the House and Senate.

The issue became so divisive that lawmakers seemed to forget about the oil and gas tax for several days.

The head tax also landed the state in court.

The Alaska Cruise Association has a lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court in Anchorage, claiming the head tax is unconstitutional.

The group, led by former Sen. John Binkley, asserts the Legislature's appropriation of the head-tax money is improper because its been used for communities no where near a port of call.

Projects include $800,000 for the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage or $430,000 for a railroad station in Wasilla.

Meanwhile, port projects in Ketchikan ($1 million for port berth replacement); Juneau ($1.2 million for emergency relief center); and Sitka ($2 million for passenger vessel lighting facility) received vetoes by former Gov. Sarah Palin.

Losing money for the Juneau project in 2008 had one lawmaker recall a cruise ship grounding in 2007 that forced nearly 300 passengers to evacuate.

"What do we do if we have a catastrophe," said Sen. Bert Stedman, a Sitka Republican who serves as the Senate Finance co-chairman. "How do you justify that veto? We need to have a facility to handle that."

The association, which represents nine cruise lines, agreed to drop its suit if the state lowered the head tax by $11.50.

Bringing the tax down to the new figure helps delete the portion that cannot be spent in Alaska's port towns and goes to other state infrastructure projects.

The group and the state are drafting an agreement to drop the suit should legislation to lower the tax pass, Binkley said.

"There is competition out there," Binkley said before the hearings. "There are dozens of other countries trying to get cruise ships to their destinations. When we are losing three ships, they are going to a competing port; they aren't sitting at a dock. "

Backers of change are pointing to a newly minted study by the McDowell Group study, citing a decline of about 142,000 passengers this year and the prospects of losing 5,000 jobs statewide.

Supporters from around the state, mostly small businesses in port cities, weighed in primarily to speak on behalf of the tax cut.

"My business has been directly impacted by this head tax; we were off by 20 percent last year," said Mike Stedman, vice president of flight operations for Juneau-based tour company Wings Airways. "We are laying up 20 percent of our aircraft fleet this year. As a result we will have less jobs. In my mind this is a jobs bill."

Chip Thoma, a proponent of the 2006 ballot initiative, said the money sent to port communities for various projects illustrates the tax is working as planned.

But Thoma told lawmakers he was willing to offer a compromise, something that reflects a projected passenger decrease.

"We are projected to go down 15 percent," Thoma said. "That would be a valid decrease. It would bring it down to $39. We could live with that."

Student Cruise Terminal Project - Reuse

Doesn't seem like they're designing a building... just reusing an old building. But interesting anyways...

UF students design cruise terminal for old Ford site

The former Ford assembly plant that sits at the base of the Mathews Bridge could one day be a cruise ship terminal and destination port, according to a study conducted by a group of students at the University of Florida.

A group of 16 students in the university’s College of Design, Construction and Planning department of interior design created design possibilities for the 86-year-old building that include 60,000 square feet of cruise ship terminal space, 50,000 square feet of boutique hotel space, 10,000 square feet of restaurant/lounge space and 40,000 square feet of what the students termed “wild card” space that included a variety of possible uses including a cinema, convention space and art display space.

Preliminary cost estimates for the project from cruise ship consultants are around $30 million.

The Jacksonville Port Authority is considering moving the cruise terminal at Dames Point to Mayport or two other unnamed sites east of the Dames Point Bridge. The authority needs a new terminal because the site of the present cruise terminal at Dames Point will become home to Hanjin Shipping Co.’s new container terminal.

About 80 percent of major cruise line ships can’t pass under Dames Point bridge and nearby wires, said port authority CEO Rick Ferrin.

Sonny Redmond, one of the partners in the investment group that owns the property, Hill Street LLC, said he hopes to use the students’ design suggestions as the basis for a future development plan for the site, but not unless he earns the support of the community for the idea.

“In order to have a project like this work, you have to have 100 percent support from all the stakeholders,” Redmond said.

The 165,000-square-foot facility is part of a 35-acre tract that Hill Street owns that stretches from the base of the bridge to Talleyrand Avenue. The facility was built for the Ford Motor Co. in 1924-25. It was used as an assembly plant until the mid-1930s and then for storage and shipping through the 1950s. Although the property has been through a succession of owners until Hill Street acquired it in 2001, it has continued to be leased out to various industrial users over the years.

Redmond said the group didn’t have any specific development plans for the property when it bought it, but when the president of the Florida chapter of the nonprofit group DOCOMOMO, which advocates for preserving historic structures, asked Assistant Professor Marty Hylton to have his students review the project as a possible cruise ship terminal, he decided to take him up on the offer.

The idea has already gotten the attention of some in the cruise ship industry. Mike Greve, president of the Miami cruise ship development consultation company Global Destinations, said he likes the site because of its history, because it is an existing building that would reduce the capital expense of construction and because it’s a Downtown site.

The owner of the property now plans to contract with Global Destinations to have the site evaluated and graded for its potential as a cruise ship terminal site. If it grades well, Redmond said the next step would be approaching the city about the idea.

Cruise Tax bill to Increase Tourism

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36051424/ns/business/

Alaska governor plans to introduce cruise tax bill

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By BECKY BOHRER

Associated Press Writer

updated 9:52 a.m. ET, Fri., March. 26, 2010

JUNEAU, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell introduced legislation Thursday aimed at reducing the state's head tax on cruise ship passengers and bringing more tourists to the state.

He first made the proposal last week after returning from a cruise ship trade show in Florida. He sees a rollback — from $46 a person to $34.50 — as a way to address industry claims that Alaska's cost of doing business is too high. He hopes it will lead to increased ship deployments and help settle a lawsuit with the Alaska Cruise Association, one the attorney general last year pledged to vigorously defend.

There are no guarantees.

Story continues below ↓

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Leading lawmakers, while open to a tax reduction, earlier this week balked at combining it with a measure allowing tax credits for corporations contributing to statewide tourism marketing efforts. Parnell's proposal includes a tax credit provision for corporations making money off tourism in Alaska, capping contributions eligible for credits at $20 million this year.

It also allows for offsets of local head taxes that Chip Thoma, president of Responsible Cruising in Alaska, said will drop the state's tax share to $19 a passenger — potentially providing millions less for capital projects. His group called Parnell's plan an "industry-written measure" that amounts to "cap and skim."

The governor's office released a copy of the bill late Thursday.

Parnell spokeswoman Sharon Leighow confirmed the bill would further reduce the head tax to $19, including deductions of charges in Juneau and Ketchikan.

Voters approved the head tax in 2006, and it's been a thorny issue since. Supporters said the tax is meant to help cover the cost of infrastructure needed for large ships coming to port. Critics countered that it's onerous and unconstitutional.

Cruise Association President John Binkley has blamed Alaska's regulatory climate and tax costs for the expected loss of three ships, accounting for about 142,000 passengers, this season. But some, including those who helped lead the voter initiative, are skeptical the tax is keeping ships away and point instead to factors like the recession.

Parnell sees his proposal as a win for all involved — and not as a corporate giveaway.

"I made a very pointed case (to industry representatives) that they would need to demonstrate that, in a public process, that this would bring ships. That it would create Alaska jobs and not just be a transfer of dollars from the state to their bottom line," he told reporters.

Parnell said one company agreed to postpone deployment decisions until May, to see what legislators do. He said he's asked other cruise lines to do the same, and to testify publicly, to make their case for the changes.

Binkley said there are discussions under way with Attorney General Dan Sullivan on a possible "stipulation" to end the pending federal lawsuit. He declined further comment, saying in part that he wanted to see Parnell's proposal.

The Legislature is currently scheduled to adjourn April 18.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Back in Business!

Signs of recovery for cruise industry, and debate on Alaska
In Miami Beach, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell hears that cruise ships seek out business environments more favorable than his state's. Industry execs say 2010's outlook is bright.
BY MARTHA BRANNIGAN
mbrannigan@MiamiHerald.com

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell came to the Seatrade Cruise Shipping convention in Miami Beach Tuesday to deliver a message that Alaska is open for business to the cruise industry.

But the governor and a contingent of Alaskan tourism officials got a strong message back from the cruise lines: Faced with stiff environmental regulation and taxes in Alaska, cruise ships will sail off to more friendly waters, industry executives on a panel at Seatrade agreed.

The cruise industry has slashed the number of berths devoted to cruising in Alaska in 2010 by 17 percent from 2009. That means 140,000 fewer tourists.

Panelist Stein Kruse, president and chief executive of Holland America Line, said cruise ships ``faced with overzealous regulations'' will use their flexibility to move to favorable business environments.

In a punitive regulatory environment, ``we can and will redeploy our ships,'' Kruse said.

Disappointing ticket prices for Alaskan cruises last year also contributed to the pull-back in ships in Alaska, as recession-battered consumers looked for bargain trips, often with little or no airfare costs.

The debate over Alaska came as top cruise industry executives told a standing-room-only crowd at Seatrade that the industry is making a comeback from the darkest days of 2009.

So far in 2010, demand for Alaska cruises has improved, as has demand more broadly.

``We're seeing solid signs of recovery, albeit one that will play out over the next couple of years,'' Kevin Sheehan, chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line, told the crowd.

The cruise industry, which is based in South Florida, was forced to resort to deep discounting to fill ships during the economic downturn, sometimes offering two-for-one specials and free airfare as come-ons. That cut deeply into revenue and profits.

But in recent months, cruise bookings have picked up and prices are slowly strengthening. Perhaps the most definite sign of a brighter outlook is that some lines are starting to order ships again after a 20-month hiatus during the downturn.

``Last year was a year we were saying, `Oh my God, How are we going to fill our ships?''' Gerald R. Cahill, chief executive officer of the Carnival line, told the crowd. ``If the consumer thinks the pricing is going to go down if they wait longer, they've got the wrong story.''

He added: ``Personally, I think we're going to see a lot of growth in North America.''

The cruise industry is set to introduce 26 new ships through 2012. That marks an investment of almost $15 billion and an 18 percent net increase in capacity.

But Carnival's Cahill predicted more moderate growth in new ships ahead, with more emphasis on refurbishing older ships to keep them fresh.

``The growth [in new cruise ships] to 2013 is going to sustain a healthy industry for a very long time,'' added Adam M. Goldstein, president and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean International, concurring with Cahill's prediction of more moderate growth in cruise fleets.

After the panelists' update, several executives met with the Alaskan governor to discuss Alaska's tax and regulatory issues.

In an interview, Gov. Parnell told The Miami Herald, ``I heard clearly the need for some change to the head tax and the need to have environmental regulation based on good science.'' The governor added: ``I'm going to try to work to reduce costs for the [cruise] industry,'' in a bid to spur the state's economy.

Tourism is Alaska's second-largest industry. The state adopted a $46 per passenger head tax in 2006 following a ballot initiative. A group of cruise lines have filed a lawsuit challenging that tax.

Meanwhile, the ballot initiative also made the state's wastewater discharge standards among the strictest anywhere.

At the Seatrade conference, Holland America's Kruse complained that other industries aren't required to meet the same wastewater treatment standards.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/17/1532821/signs-of-recovery-and-debate-on.html#ixzz0ip61ykDv

Officials Outline Problems with Alaska Cruise Picture

Here's a link to a good article on recent problems with taxes for the cruise industry in Alaska.

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/home-based/conferences/officials-outline-problems-alaska-cruise-picture-20371

2 more cruise ships to be pulled from Alaska waters in 2011

http://www.adn.com/2009/12/09/1048348/2-more-cruise-ships-to-be-pulled.html

Princess Cruises Investment in Alaskan Excursions

Not related directly to Anchorage... but still shows investment by the cruising industry in Alaska.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=78446.blog

Airline response to cruise ship cuts

Airlines boost flights to Alaska this summer

Experts say travelers may get better deals.

By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK
ebluemink@adn.com

Published: February 5th, 2010 12:07 PM
Last Modified: February 5th, 2010 12:07 PM

An unexpected surge in new commercial flights scheduled for Alaska this summer may trigger new competition among airlines and cheaper tickets to some major Lower 48 cities, travel industry experts say.

Friendlier skies

New round-trip nonstop flights coming this summer:

• Anchorage-Chicago, United Airlines, May 15-Aug. 30

• Anchorage-San Francisco, United, June 9-Aug. 30

• Anchorage-Denver, United, June 10-Aug. 30

• Anchorage-Portland, Continental, June 9-Sept. 6

• Anchorage-Philadelphia, US Airways, June 1-Sept. 7

• Fairbanks-Denver, Frontier Airlines, May 14-Sept 12

• Fairbanks-Salt Lake City, Delta Airlines, June 25; end date not available

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Continental, United and US Airways all plan to add daily nonstop service this summer between Anchorage and Portland, Chicago, San Francisco and Philadelphia. No new flights have been announced between Anchorage and Seattle, a major connection hub for Alaskans.

It's too early to say how much new seat capacity will be added at the Anchorage international airport -- Alaska Airlines won't announce its summer schedule until late March -- but for now, the new traffic from other airlines is set to add more than 930 seats per day.

Fairbanks is also expecting a bump in air traffic this summer: It will receive additional nonstop flights, four to five days per week, going round-trip to Denver and Salt Lake City.

Airlines are expanding their service to Alaska at an interesting moment -- on the tail of a global recession that last year kept thousands of independent travelers from visiting Alaska, and on the cusp of cruise-industry cuts that mean thousands fewer cruise passengers will fly to and from Alaska this year.

Roughly 120,000 fewer cruise passengers are expected to arrive or depart from the Anchorage or Fairbanks airports due to the pullout of two large cruise ships that sailed the Gulf of Alaska route last year. That equates to three planes a day, according to the Alaska Travel Industry Association.

Even if tens of thousands more independent travelers visit this summer, they won't fill the seats emptied of cruise passengers, said Ron Peck, the ATIA president.

On the other hand, the new flights could be a boon for Alaskans during the summer.

"The one thing I'm certain of is that (Alaska) air fares will be lower this year," said Mark Eliason, president of USTravel, an Anchorage-based travel agency.

Scott McMurren, an Anchorage travel industry marketing consultant, said Alaskans might see "fare-related fireworks" as the May and June inaugural dates of the new flights approach.

GLOWING TERMS

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The airlines announced their new flights in glowing press releases over the last couple of months.

Denver-based Frontier Airlines, a low-cost carrier that already offers nonstop service between Denver and Anchorage, touted its new nonstop flight to Fairbanks, saying its customers will now have "the ability to travel to two breathtaking destinations in the great state of Alaska."

US Airways said it "could not be more excited to bring Alaska to our Philadelphia hub," and boasted that its new flight will be the only nonstop airline service to Alaska from the northeastern United States.

The biggest increase in flights comes from United Airlines, which withdrew from Alaska last year but plans to come back with bigger planes. It is taking on several markets already served by Alaska Airlines -- Chicago, San Francisco and Denver.

United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said the airline is "seeing an interest among our customers to go to Anchorage in the summer season, more so than we've previously seen ... we've seen a significant uptick this summer."

United's decision to leave Alaska in 2009 "was just a reflection of the economic situation at the time," Urbanksi said.

GRABBING MARKET SHARE

Industry experts say some other factors may have driven the airlines' decisions.

McMurren said the airlines think they will be able to lure additional travelers to Alaska using their expanding frequent-flier base. United, US Airways, Continental and many others, including Japan-based All Nippon Airways and Germany-based Lufthansa Airlines, are all part of the same global frequent-flier network, called Star Alliance.

"The whole deal is these carriers think they can make a dent based on their frequent mileage network," he said.

Eliason has another angle.

"Because there has been less competition and the capacity, if anything, has shrunk, the yields were high here last year," he said.

"(The airlines) think, 'Gee, we can make money.' "

But, "the piece that these airlines didn't factor in was the (120,000) cruise passengers that are gone," Eliason said.

He predicted that Alaska Airlines will match whatever prices the other airlines offer.

CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

Alaska Airlines declined to discuss its flight plans for Anchorage this summer or how big an impact it expects from the cruise-ship cutbacks. The company won't discuss such details until it announces its flight schedule in March, spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said.

She noted that the airline added a second flight between Anchorage and Chicago within the last year.

An Anchorage airport spokeswoman said Thursday the airport is "cautiously optimistic" about the number of people who will deplane this summer.

Last year's passenger counts dropped by a sizable amount. About 985,000 people deplaned in Anchorage last summer, down nearly 12 percent from the prior year, airport statistics show.

"It's fascinating, I guess, to have so many airlines turn their attention to Alaska," said David Kasser, vice president of tourism, development and sales for the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"It's ironic that we are getting more air traffic when we are getting less (ship) capacity. It's quite possible that people are changing the way they are traveling, and doing more independent trips, but that hasn't been the case in many years," he said.

Instead, Kasser said, the past increases in Alaska visitation have come from cruise tours.

Without an increase in independent travelers this year, the state will see its fewest tourists since 2005, said Peck of the ATIA.

tourism expectations for 2010

http://homernews.com/stories/020310/business_1_002.shtml

Industry leaders say 2010 should be somewhat better than last summer Tourism outlook looking brighter



By Margaret Bauman

Visitor industry officials, still reeling from an unusually sparse tourist season in 2009, aren't smiling broadly yet, but there's an air of optimism sparked by a forecast from the U.S. Travel Association's marketing outlook forum.

The association says declines in travel are bottoming out, meaning that 2010 will be marginally better than last year, giving some in the tourism industry a sense of optimism that consumer confidence is back, said Deb Hickok, president and chief executive officer of the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau.

On the other hand, others are predicting the tourism market in Alaska will be down further, she said.

Still, some members of the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau already are indicating they are selling summer business at a better pace than this time last year, AVCB President Julie Saupe said in her mid-January annual report to the community.

The big unknown for Southcentral Alaska is how much of an increase in independent travel the industry can muster to fill the gap left from some 100,000 fewer cruise ship travelers,

Dave Kasser, director of tourism sales for ACVB, estimated the loss of one Holland America and one Princess Cruises ship to the Anchorage market at about $50 million

Kasser, fresh from tourism seminars in several states, including Ohio and Texas, said he's seeing a lot of interest in Alaska tourism, particularly for independent travelers, but that it will take a collective industry effort to sell the value of trips to the 49th state.

"We need to make it easy for people to purchase an Alaska trip and be confident that they will see what they want to see at a price they consider a value," he said.

One of the perks of the tourism shows he has traveled to in advance of the 2010 summer season has been the people he's met who have been to Alaska, Kasser said.

"People walk up and tell you every portion of their trip to Alaska, and while they are standing there talking, they are selling other people who are walking up," he said.

Kasser said he also sees new growth in overall international market of visitors to Alaska, which is currently about 10 percent of overall tourism.

"The big new market is South America," he said. "We are starting to see more people from South America and India."

Germany and Japan still make up the bulk of the foreign visitors to the state, he said.

German travelers stay an average of three to six weeks, and tend to stay at mid-range or less types of property. They are looking for value over anything else. They will buy groceries, rent RVs, he said. Germans get six weeks vacation a year, Kasser said. German visitors want experiences off the beaten track.

The Japanese, by comparison, generally travel in groups, with meals and everything laid out, he said.

What will help improve the tourism industry for Alaska this summer is for the industry to work collectively to make it easier for independent travelers to package trips at various levels of value, Kasser said.

Alaska's tourism industry also is busy working the meetings and conventions circuit, with the potential for millions of dollars in business for the airline and hotel sectors, as well as a variety of vendors.

In 2008, the latest date for which such figures are available, the estimated economic impact of conventions held in the Anchorage area was in excess of $97 million, ACVB said.

Dozens of conventions and meetings for a range of industries are already booked for the 2010 season. There also are major events like Anchorage Fur Rendezvous and the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which draw thousands of visitors annually.

The Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention is set for October in Fairbanks this year, with anticipated attendance of about 3,500 people, FCVB's Hickok said. The Interior city also will host a rural energy conference, the Alaska Peace Officers convention and the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals, among others in 2010.

Uh-oh!

2 more cruise ships to be pulled from Alaska waters in 2011

With Alaska already facing big cuts in cruise-ship visits next summer, the state's two largest operators announced plans Wednesday to remove even more ships in 2011.

Holland America Lines and Princess Cruises said that they will redeploy one ship each from Alaska to Europe in 2011.

The two operators are among six cruise lines that plan to either cancel or reroute ships to Alaska next year, reducing the number of cruise visitors by more than 100,000.

The owner of the two lines, Carnival Corp., has been one of the harshest critics of the increased taxation and regulation of the cruise industry approved by Alaska voters in 2006.

During a Carnival investor meeting last spring, the company's chief executive, Micky Arison, railed against the voter-approved law, which created a passenger levy and other taxes, blaming it for the lack of growth in Alaska's cruise industry in the past two years and for turning away budget-conscious travelers during this year's recession...

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