Alaska Or Bust!!!!

We are now about a month away from enjoying taking our 23rd group to experience the fantastic state that Alaska has evolved to be. I guess it has always been an exciting vacation opportunity, even back in the 40's and 50's, but it has become here in the 21st century, a positive bucket-list vacation item for a lot of folks.

Gratefully, next month, we have almost 60 passengers going to enjoy the interior of Alaska as well as cruising the Inside Passage. Only one couple has been there, the others are “first timers”. And, for some, they have never been on an airplane, neither have they ever cruised, so for them this will be a real serious memory-maker.

In an article that I read this week, a travel writer named Mary Pemberton was commenting on the interest in the Alaska market the past two years. She writes that more than 1.8 million visitors came to Alaska from May to September, 2016. That was 21% higher visitor count than the low point in 2010. The important statistic about those visitors was that the '16 visitors rated their trip to Alaska at a 75% “very satisfied” score, and just 1% in the “dissatsified” category.

Last summer, visitors poured into the Alaska economy approximately $1,057 a person, up about 4% from the year before, and it does not take into consideration the transportation to enter or exit the state, or, and here is the big one, it didn't include any cruise or tour packages.

Visitors arriving by cruise ship account for 55% of the visitors to Alaska, and not surprisingly, the cruise ports of Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan were the most visited Alaska destinations in 2016. No doubt, it'll be the same this year.

Alaska Airlines has taken notice of that demand and have reacted accordingly by offering more departures from past markets as well as some new markets. They have started offering non-stop flights connecting Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon. The trade organization for leading U.S. airlines recently projected that the summer of 2017 will be the busiest one of all time for American carriers in terms of air travel to this state.

Alaska Airlines has the Alaska market pretty well to themselves, and in recent years, I've found them to be the easiest customer service desk that we deal with. They are always ready to please and will work very hard in behalf of our(their) customer.....which as far as I'm concerned, is what it's all about!!

The hard-working experienced travel counselors at The Travel Factory have a lot of practice sending folks from the Big Country not only to Alaska, but also to great vacation adventures all over the world, so come in for a visit and let us help you build your memory bank with some exciting vacation suggestions. We have good chairs at 4150 Southwest Drive, or for an exploratory call, try 698-1421 or toll-free 800-760-4040. You'll not regret trying out our website at www.thetravelfactoryabilene.com.....good tours proposed on that site as well as some travel videos and pictures produced by past travelers. And, if you want to start planning for Alaska 2018.....we already have some space reserved.....just for you!!!