August Alaska Economic Trends

August Trends’ profile of tourism’s impact on Southeast Alaska is the first of its kind. As there’s no official “tourism industry,” we looked at a variety of industries and occupations to estimate tourism employment and wages. We also describe how tourism was born in Southeast, the gateway to the rest of Alaska – steamships ushered it in but its true growth began and continues with the rise of large cruise ships.

Also this month is an analysis of the demographics of newcomers to Alaska and how these new residents change the state’s makeup. Finally, the August issue gives a brief summary of four of Alaska’s largest rental markets, based on the latest results of our annual rental survey.