Change is coming for Sitka’s visitor marketing and information program – but not this year. In a recent work session (3-26-24) with the Chamber of Commerce, assembly members indicated that it was time to revisit the strategy behind “Visit Sitka.”
The Sitka Chamber of Commerce assumed responsibility for visitor marketing following the dissolution of the Sitka Convention & Visitors Bureau in 2015.
And by just about every metric, Visit Sitka has done a remarkable job.
Rachel Roy is the director of the Sitka Chamber, and oversees Visit Sitka.
“There used to be weeks in the summer, during the Fine Arts Camp or the Music Festival, that would be sold out,” said Roy, “and that’s not the case anymore. There are several months where there is little space left for this summer. We heard from our multi-day charter operators and lodges three or four years ago that they were filled up and sold out and really encourage travelers to book ahead, book for next year – book your ‘25 dates now – because they’re filling up. So that demand has really, really been there.”
The City of Sitka pays the Chamber $300,000 to manage Visit Sitka, which produces a variety of printed guides, maintains a website and visitor center, with a full-time staff of four and ten summer employees. That’s a lot for $300,000, which is why for the last several years the Chamber has asked for – and received – a $275,000 supplemental appropriation. Assembly members didn’t necessarily balk at paying for the services, but they did wonder if the mission of Visit Sitka had creeped from the mission of the old Sitka Convention & Visitors Bureau, which was intended to support independent travelers.
Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz wondered if the budget was creeping, too.
“I think we’ve drifted away from the annual contract amount being the baseline,” said Eisenbeisz. “And now we’ve hit this new baseline of $500,000, without any supplemental asks, and that was never really how I saw this to happen. I saw the supplemental budget as the projects above that baseline that we had wanted done.”
The Sitka Chamber of Commerce is an independent nonprofit organization, with other pursuits besides Visit Sitka. With the recent rapid growth in cruise tourism, assembly members have begun to ask whether Sitka’s visitor marketing should be restructured, and put out to bid. Mayor Eisenbeisz thought the regular supplemental budget requests were pointing in that direction.
“ I think that just reinforces the assembly’s desire to go out to a new RFP (Request For Proposals), because clearly that amount isn’t matching what it costs to do what we’ve asked for.”
Assembly member Thor Christianson supported issuing an RFP, and refocusing Visit Sitka’s marketing efforts on independent travelers, who pay the bed tax, which constitutes a large portion of the Visit Sitka budget.
“To me, the natural way to do it is to focus on the people that are paying your bills,” said Christianson. “If Visit Sitka is going to be dealing with cruise ship people then we need to move a revenue stream from that group to it.”
Chamber director Rachel Roy reminded the assembly there was significant overlap between independent travelers and cruise passengers.
“Thirty-percent of independent travelers first came on a cruise ship – that’s your introduction to Alaska,” she said, “and so I think that’s always been kind of understood.”
Assembly member Tim Pike agreed. Once a person is on the ground in Sitka, they’re a visitor, regardless of how they got here. He favored a resolution that didn’t put people into opposing camps.
“The cruise ship people are going to show up and ask questions, regardless,” he said, “we’re not going to turn them away and say, ‘Sorry, we only work for the airplane travelers.’ I think we need to figure out how to manage this particular problem and where those funds come from is up to us to figure out, if we’re uncomfortable with the bed tax paying for it.”
With the first cruise ship due to arrive in mid-April, and the presses rolling on all the maps and guides that will be distributed this season, the assembly will likely approve the Chamber’s supplemental budget request when it officially arrives on a meeting agenda, and possibly then direct staff to develop a new plan for next year. “At the end of the day,” said Mayor Eisenbeisz, “the amount presented from Visit Sitka is the cost of doing business status quo.”
Note: In a previous meeting, the Sitka Assembly also discussed creating a Tourism Commission and a city tourism director.
