Members of the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly were given some positive news about the community’s visitor industry at its meeting July 28, as the Convention and Visitors Bureau presented results of a recently-completed study of that economic sector.
Representing the CVB, Brenda Schwartz-Yeager delivered a short presentation on the data compiled by Rain Coast Data, an analytic firm in Juneau which has run similar assessments for Wrangell and Southeast Conference.
“It’s kind of a snapshot of our visitor industry,” she explained.
The study found tourism to be the second-largest private sector industry in Wrangell, making up eight percent of its jobs and bringing in four percent of its wages, or $1.7 million. Government jobs and the private maritime sector each make up a third of its total economy.
During the summer of 2014, an estimated 14,720 tourists came to Wrangell. These numbers indicate a 26-percent increase over 2011. While in the community, they spent approximately $4.1 million, a 36-percent increase over 2011 totals.
Cruise passengers represented just over half of these, but contribute less than a quarter of visitor spending on the island. Most of the money coming from tourism actually comes from independent travelers, such as those coming to fish or take trips up the Stikine River.
The Anan Wildlife Observatory Site was the most popular destination, while other hot spots included the LeConte Glacier, Chief Shakes Island and Petroglyph Beach. In all, independent travelers contributed $3.1 million to the local economy in 2014, with two-thirds of that spent on excursions.
“I think that’s huge,” commented Carol Rushmore, Wrangell’s director for economic development.
Compared to other communities in the region, Wrangell’s tourism sector makes up a smaller proportion of its local economy. The Alaska Department of Labor found the sector made up 15 percent of all jobs and 8 percent of all employment earnings last year for Southeast.
And while visitor industry employment has grown across the region by 14 percent over the past three years, similar employment in Wrangell was found to have decreased slightly. The study suggested this may be due to a decrease in non-tourist visitor traffic outside of the regular summer season.
Schwartz-Yeager added these wage and employment figures are likely to be on the conservative side, since they do not take self-employed operators’ salaries into account.
The study also found an increase in tourism over the past five years during the May-September season, but that visitor numbers have decreased during other times. While summer hotel room bookings increased by eight percent between 2010 and 2014, annual room rentals were down by 16 percent during the same period, and non-summer use was down by 35 percent.
How visitors arrive is also changing. While around half of all visitors arrive on cruise vessels, yachting visits have increased by a fifth since 2010. Yachters on average stayed 2.3 days per visit last year and together spent almost $300,000. Summer air passengers increased by 13 percent during the same period, with about 3,200 of these estimated to have visited for recreational purposes last year. Ferry arrivals during summer months have declined though, dropping by eight percent.
Rushmore afterward explained the study’s findings will help improve the city’s understanding of the local economy.
“Having some economic figures helps make a more well-informed decision,” she said. The analysis was ordered after Rain Coast had conducted a similar study of the local economy for the waterfront master plan this spring.
“The CVB has long wanted an economic analysis of the impact of tourism on the community,” said Rushmore. In coming years, she expects the bureau will continue to contract such studies. “I definitely think it’s something that they want to keep seeing as it goes on.”
For the city, she sees the study’s findings are already influencing some of its economic focus, such as what information Wrangell will track with its various forms, such as those related to yachting and the bed tax.
Understanding the community’s visitor industry in greater detail may also help make informed decisions with upcoming development opportunities, from private projects like the planned Stikine Inn expansion to public ones, like implementation of the waterfront master plan.
The full report has been included in the Assembly’s meeting packet, and is available to view online at http://www.wrangell.com/sites/default/files/meetingepackets/2016-07-28_regular_assembly_packet.pdf.
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