Last year, at the 20th annual Alaska Media Roadshow — a professional event sponsored by the Alaska Travel Industry Association — travel journalists and influencers congregated to learn what’s new in the destination for 2024.
The roadshow offers an insider’s perspective on Alaska tourism, and while I’ve covered the destination for decades,I always leave the event having learned something new. Here’s what I learned about the latest news in cruising, touring and events in Alaska.
Alaska Cruise News
Alaskan Dream Cruises is offering the new, eight-day Ice of the Inside Passage tour, which lets visitors explore seven glaciers: Margerie, Grand Pacific, Mendenhall, Sawyer, South Sawyer and Dawes, as well as LeConte Glacier, via a high-speed, jet-boat excursion. Clients can choose from seven sailings in 2024, with departures available May through August.
Holland America Line has announced a new 28-day Arctic Circle itinerary that includes 12 Alaska ports. There’s a sailing set to depart this June, and more to come in 2025.
Lindblad Expeditions’ new Nome to Tokyo: Ring of Fire cruise departs this August. The 21-day cruise visits western rookeries home to more than 1 million birds, plus massive seal colonies on the remote Pribilof Islands, all while following the northern Ring of Fire’s 51 volcanoes from Alaska to Japan. The cruise is front-loaded with myriad presentations on the geology, wildlife, ecology and oceanography of the destinations highlightes on the trip, all delivered by experts and scientists onboard.
Alaska Tour News
Juneau Lighthouse Tours has expanded its 2.5-hour whale-watching adventure to include a land-based segment. The operator has exclusive permission to explore the Sentinel Island Lighthouse, a historic landmark steeped in Alaska history and lighthouse lore. Their boat, the MV Beacon, has been also updated to include individual leather seats that recline and USB chargers.
Juneau Food Tours has partnered with Breathe Alaska to offer Mindfulness in the Wilderness, a program that focuses on using breathwork to enjoy the Alaska wilds and to consciously connect to nature and the food it produces. The experience is led by a trained guide and includes a gourmet lunch provided by an award-winning chef.
John Hall’s Alaska has announced the new Black Label Experience which includes under 20 passengers per trip traveling in state-of-the-art motorcoaches. CEO Elizabeth Hall also invites agents to visit the company’s enhanced and completely redesigned website.
Alaska Event News
The Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau will host the 2024 Arctic Winter Games this March. The event will bring together athletes from around the world for culture, sport, and interactive opportunities. Tickets are now on sale for hockey bouts, basketball games, cultural events and more.
Alaska Hotel News
Borealis Basecamp outside Fairbanks has announced a new main lodge, dining center and the addition of an in-suite private sauna to its glass dome accommodation designed for aurora watching. The property has also added tours that include ski excursions, fat-tire biking, reindeer walks, snowmobiling and dog-sledding adventures.
Within the Wild’sTutka Bay Lodge is offering a new four-day, all-inclusive package that includes ocean snorkeling, a Homer-based art tour, a forest and ocean wellness program, bear viewing and helicopter adventures. Also new is the lodge’s million-dollar catamaran for exploring isolated coves of the lower Kenai Peninsula.
Alyeska Resort debuted The Veilbreaker Tour last year, and it’s a great offering to recommend for thrill-seeking clients. The tour is simple, yet incredible: Participants take a ski lift to the top of Alyeska’s slopes, then hike several rocky promontories and a pair of suspension bridges. Christmas Bridge (177 feet long) and New Year’s Bridge (233 feet long) are anchored 2,300 feet above the valley floor and wobble as visitors cross. They’re also honeycombed, see-through metal bridges just a tad wider than two human feet placed side by side, creating the optical illusion of walking across the clouds in midair, with the valley in the distance.
