See Alaska as others see Alaska; travel writer shares promise of the Alaska Media Road Show.

Tourism today is a global sea of travel products ranging from llama treks to tropical cruises, from 500-year-old cathedrals to the Great Wall of China. How can Alaska stand out in a marketplace that becomes more crowded and competitive each year?

Thanks to the Alaska Travel Industry

Association's annual Alaska Media Road Show, the state's tourism industry is harvesting the power of "free ink," another name for editorial coverage that can't be bought at any price. Here's how it works. Once a year, about 40 select journalists are flown to a resort/conference center for an intense schedule of wining, dining and a fast-paced day of one-on one interviews with members of ATIA.

Once sold on Alaska by their brief appointments at the Road Show, journalists schedule trips to the Great Land. They write firsthand feature articles about their experiences, sending a personal "I've been there" message to their readers. The articles appear in newspapers and magazines worldwide and, because writers are paid by their publishers, there is no cost to destinations for this coverage (although destinations may pay the travel expenses of writers whose publishers don't provide them with expense accounts).

What's not to love about this win-win scenario? Editorial coverage has clout, credibility and inestimable residual value. Readers believe what they read, clip it, save it, pass it along. Feedback from newspaper features may come in for weeks; from magazines for months. A mention in a guidebook can benefit a destination for years.

$9.2 MILLION RETURN

The three-year return on investment from the Road Show is $9.2 million, estimates Jennifer Thompson, vice president for public relations at Bernholz and Graham in Anchorage. Although editorial attention can be fickle and it may be up to a year before a feature makes its way through the editorial pipeline, tourism professionals find press relations to be one of the most inexpensive marketing mallets in their toolbox.

Participating as partners (i.e. ATIA members who paid $2,750 plus their personal expenses to attend AMR) this year for the first time were Jan and Jim Thurston of the Alaska Center for Creative Renewal in Halibut Cove. "I'll be back next year to build on this year's experiences," says Jan. "I know these things take time."

John Quinley, assistant regional director for the National Park Service, remembered, "In 2004, I talked to managing editor Tim Woody about the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Alaska Lands Act, which established 10 new national park units in Alaska. He liked the idea, assigned a writer, and the story ran in the December/January (2005/2006) issue of Alaska magazine.

"Another story that was developed at Road Show 2003 was with Stan Patty," recalls Quinley. "He spend part of his teenage years at a gold mine that would eventually become part of the National Park System. The idea was for Stan to go back with a writer and photographer, talk about those years, what had changed and what stayed constant. Alaska Magazine liked the idea, and we put together the visit in June 2004. Six months later, they published a really nice story and photo spread." The 200,5 AMR was held at the posh Four Seasons Whistler in British Columbia. The 2004 event was held in an equally impressive resort near Seattle. Next year's Road Show will be held in a lavish venue in Manhattan. ATIA pays for journalists' air tickets, airport transfers and two nights' lodging with group meals. Incidentals and other travel expenses are at their own expense.

"The 2005 Alaska Media Road Show had a $190,000 line in the association's FY06 (this year's) budget and I believe we had a $35,000 line in the FY05 (last year's) budget for planning and deposits," reports ATIA's communications director Dave Worrell. "That gives us a total cost over two years of $225,000. We also rely on sponsorships and partner fees to help the budget. Revenue (for the 2005 AMR) should be about $125,000."

APPOINTMENT TIME

Last year's 40 attending journalists were given a list of 37 participating ATIA members, with each writer expected to make at least 15 appointments out of a possible 25 time slots. Writers are invited months ahead of time, confirmed, then given a password to a dedicated Web site. Online, writers can request appointments with partners and partners can request to meet writers whose publications or specialties mesh best with their own marketing goals. Matches are made at the Web site and partners also can issue invitations directly to journalists via e-mail. Because some journalists focus only on cruises, fishing, ecotourism, the arts or some other interest, there were many "perfect matches."

Once the perfect matches are scheduled, other time slots are filled in. The day is divided into 25 writer-partner appointment periods of 15 minutes each, two 15-minute breaks and a 75-minute lunch break. Each partner is allotted a few chairs and a table to display collateral materials. Most bring a laptop computer to show slides of their destination.

Usually, partners gave writers a press kit containing press releases, backgrounders and an image CD. "It's always great to have press kits for the destinations we cover, but there's just no way one can carry it all home," observes Janna Graber, managing editor of Go World Travel magazine. "It's really appreciated that the Alaska Media Road Show provided boxes and shipped our press kits home for us."

A GALA AFFAIR

The 2005 Alaska Media Road Show opened with a gala Taste of Alaska reception, hosted by Holland America Line and the CVBs of Kodiak Island, Fairbanks, Kenai and Anchorage. Celebrity chefs from HAL and various Alaska communities prepared their signature dishes, dazzling journalists with such specialties as maple-glazed salmon, shrimp in anisette and crab-stuffed rouladen of beef. Guests were greeted with champagne; an open bar provided additional drinks.

Alaska Railroad hosted a sumptuous, four-course luncheon where Susan Kiger, director of sales and marketing, spoke briefly about its GoldStar service. The closing dinner, hosted by ATIA, showcased the National Park Service Alaska Region. Over fondue at the posh Fairmont Chateau Whistler, journalists were given an update on Alaska's national parks by Anchorage-based John Quinley. More than 2.2 million visitors enter Alaska's national parks each year, cited Quinley who announced NPS news, including $30 million in upgrades at Denali, the restoration of the Kennicott mine buildings at Wrangell-St. Elias, a new waterfront facility at Seward and a new visitor center at Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords.

Some ATIA partners such as Alaska Sea Adventures Yacht Tours, Major Marine Tours, Phillips Cruises & Tours and Rust's Flying Service/K2Aviation purchased individual booths. Many of ATIA's other members were represented within larger groups such as convention & visitors bureaus from Anchorage, Fairbanks, Haines, Juneau, Kenai, Ketchikan, Kodiak Island, Mat-Su and Unalaska/Port of Dutch Harbor. Tourism North, a consortium of Alaska and Canadian destinations, represented its many members. Other regional tourism groups attending included the Kenai Peninsula and Alaska's Southwest.

"The Alaska Travel Industry Association has more than 1,000 member businesses," says Dave Worrell. "We can't take them all with us to the Road Show, although I'd love to. (Participation) is largely self-selecting: those partners who recognize the value, have the budget to attend, and those who have a product that can benefit from media coverage. They also have to register early--we always have a waiting list. The majority of our partners at Road Show are repeat attendees.

"Every year we have a few changes in the roster," Worrell finds. "Some partners can afford to come only every other year or (they withdraw because of) changes to their business. We have added a few slots every year so more members can participate."

Alaska cruise giants Princess and Holland America Cruises were represented. So were smaller cruise companies such as Stan Stephens Glacier Cruises (also representing Valdez), American West Steamboat Co., Cruise West, Alaska Sea Adventures Yacht Cruises and Alaska Unusual Grand Yacht Adventures. Package providers who presented their products included Alaska Discovery, Alaska Heritage Tours, Alaska Travel Adventures and Alaska Wildland Adventures. In addition to Alaska Railroad, Gray Line of Alaska was on hand to tell journalists about their wide variety of travel products.

ATTRACTING MEDIA

Looking back at articles that resulted from other media road shows, Anchorage scored features in National Geographic, Seattle Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times and many other publications, according to Nance Larsen, vice president of communications and marketing programs at the Anchorage CVB. However, that's just "free ink" that they know about. Writers may send clips of their major features but, when travel writers are enthused about a topic, they also generate buzz through brief mentions in columns, round-up stories, Web sites, tip sheets and blogs.

"Working with qualified travel writers that produce stories in key publications is a great promotional benefit for our bureau," said Larsen.

Note, too, that all this editorial mention was "free ink" in addition to Anchorage's paid advertising. The ACVB spends $375,000 on national, state, local and Internet advertising.

"I can remember when repeat business was less than 20 percent," relates Gary Odle of Alaska Travel Adventures Inc., whose day excursions include the Liarsville Hippodrome, gold panning, nature walks, Jeep and kayaking tours and the Gold Creek Salmon Bake. "Today it's 30 percent," he observes, crediting such events as the Road Show in spreading the word that Alaska's Interior provides a vast variety of travel experiences beyond cruise ship ports of call.

"The best press we get is from freelance writers who experience one of our products firsthand, "says Mark Mumm, director of sales and marketing for Gray Line of Alaska. "Last year, for example, we hosted a writer whose story appeared in five newspapers."

Lorene Palmer's challenge as president and CEO of the Juneau Convention and Visitor Bureau is to spread the word that Juneau is not just a cruise port." We get 915,000 cruise passengers each year, but only 70,000 independent visitors who arrive by air or ferry," she recognizes while telling writers that Juneau is a diverse destination with a vast backcountry. She says the city spends about $200,000 yearly on tourism promotion, including hosting travel writers, to bring attention to such city advantages as the new Perseverance Theater, the 10-day jazz and classics music festival, a week-long Alaska Folk Festival, yacht charters that sail out of Juneau, and many other events that make Juneau a destination.

INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE

Some of the writers are old Alaska hands who come to AMR each year to see what's new in state tourism. Stanton Patty, an AMR veteran from Vancouver, Wash., was born and reared in Fairbanks, spent 34 years as a staffer for the Seattle Times, writes widely about Alaska and is the author of Fearless Men & Fabulous Women, a Reporter's Memoir from Alaska and the Yukon. Many others were first-timers at the event. Some had never been to Alaska. Marge Peterson, a contributing editor to AAA's Home and Away magazine with its 1.6 million circulation, says, "I learn more each time. My first Road Show was a lesson in Alaska history, culture and geography and I learn more with each one. Making contact with key Alaska tourism providers is invaluable."

The compliment is returned by many ATIA members who voice gratitude for a venue where they can meet so many journalists at once. "We can sell our entire community (at AMR), giving a better sense of Alaska," says Kathy Dunn of Tourism North. "We (ATIA members) all work together," says Alaska Railroad's public affairs officer Tim Thompson. "We need each other to be successful, and this event always results in a lot of positive press."

The Road Show ends with a partner debriefing where suggestions are made to improve the next year's event. While the 2005 event was held in October, Worrell says, "The 2006 Alaska Media Road Show in New York will be held in mid- to late September. We plan to make it a bigger and better event. Preliminary plans include an increase in member partners and a reception that will allow us to extend our reach to even more media representatives. And, we want to make sure that our members of all sizes have an equal chance to participate, so we've made a commitment not to increase the partner fees even though New York will be dramatically more expensive than (holding it in the Northwest).

Janet Groene is a professional travel writer whose features about Alaska have appeared in dozens of publications. Her newest books include Fantastic Discounts & Deals for Anyone Over 50 (Cold Spring Press).