Alaska needs to be marketed to Alaskans

Alaska's visitor industry leaders are skilled in marketing the Last Frontier to Outsiders, but need to make more of an effort to promote the tourism industry within the state, according to tourism leaders from across the state.

"It's clear from talking with legislators and being down in Juneau

Tourism provides more than 30,000 jobs, and in 2003, injected $1.8 billion into the Alaska economy, according to Ron Peck, president and chief executive officer of ATIA, the state's tourism marketing association. "We're the No. 2 industry in the state, and the only one I know of that is growing."

But some within Alaska's business community discount tourism's impact, saying most of those jobs are entry-level or that the industry is controlled by Seattle-based companies, according to an industry panel discussion held Oct. 5.