Quirky tourist town struggles for survival amid virus
TALKEETNA, ALASKA » In a quirky Alaska town, small sightseeing planes sit idle, the grand fireplace is dark at the usually bustling lodge, and the general store is stocked with ice cream for tourists who are nowhere to be seen.
It’s almost “ghost townesque,” said Fernando Salvador, a hotel manager in Talkeetna, which lies about halfway between Anchorage and Denali National Park.
By late May, Main Street should have been jammed with meandering tourists slurping ice cream cones and stopping at gift shops alongside original cabins built in this community of about 800. But the coronavirus has upended everything.
Communities across Alaska are feeling the financial squeeze, from cruise ship ports where major lines have canceled summer sailings, to Talkeetna, which bills itself as the Gateway to Denali and where the ship passengers arrive on buses for inland excursions. Nearly half of the state’s 2.2 million annual visitors usually arrive on those vessels.
Salvador, vice president and general manager of the Alaska Collection by Pursuit, which includes the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, estimates a decline in business of 75%, and staffing will be less than half of last year. spending money.
He said on Memorial Day, he took in 85% of his highest record sales, and sold as much in apparel as he did in cannabis.
Cruise ship passengers can’t take marijuana products back to hotels or on the ships with them so if they purchase anything in the store, it’s in very small amounts, plus maybe a Tshirt, McAneney said.
But he’s seeing state residents purchasing larger amounts of cannabis. While he may have fewer transactions, people are spending more per transaction.
“It’s Alaskans recreating with Alaskans and they’re very eager to support Alaska small businesses,” he said.
Donna Knight of Wasilla drove with friends to Talkeetna to have lunch at one restaurant, but was disappointed to find it was closed. They ate elsewhere and then went shopping.
Her summer plans were to visit Alaska communities, to help out local businesses, but began to have second thoughts after the number of coronavirus cases began to spike. “I’m nervous,” she said.
Alaska was one of the first states to allow businesses to reopen and lifted stay-at-home restrictions in May. Even though cases are trending upward again, the state still has relatively few, with 755 cases involving residents as of Sunday, and 12 deaths.
“The worst thing I think that could happen for tourism for us right now is to have a second wave come through and have to shut down again,” Salvador said, “because that would really, really cripple the tourism economy here, not only for this season, but you can also see for seasons, you know, further on.”