Ketchikan Tourism Strategy
December 2021 – Present
Ketchikan, Alaska is one of the fastest growing and most popular US cruise destinations in southeast Alaska. Both pre- and post-COVID, the destination has been at a tipping point to support a healthy year-round tourism economy while navigating heavy reliance on a five-month cruise tourism season. As part of the vision of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, this project was conceived to bring together the local and regional community to strategically examine both the positive and negative impacts of tourism on the entire community — its residents, the businesses, and the natural environment, in order to develop a coordinated approach on what tourism should look like for this iconic destination.
Confluence Sustainability, led by Julie Klein, is partnering with George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies to develop a tourism strategy and destination stewardship roadmap to support Ketchikan. Led by the consulting team, the dynamic stakeholder engagement process is working with the community to prioritize proactive management to protect natural assets, build the local economy, and to ensure residents are engaged in guiding the future of the destination.