The Alaska Geotourism initiative is a collaboration convened by University of Alaska faculty and program specialists and involves rural tourism business and community leaders focused on identifying viable rural economic development management strategies that maximize beneficial tourism for their communities and seek to further good destination stewardship. Another purpose is to provide a source of information to re-introduce remote rural Alaska to the US and International Geotourism communities. See Alaska Geotourism Charter.

Alaska Geotourism is a geotourism initiative, which is a statewide rural tourism collaboration that is now undertaking discussions to identify and promote projects currently underway as well as identify future collaborative endeavours.

Geotourism is very much a theme that is currently ongoing in several rural Alaskan communities well before the formal organization of Alaska’s geotourism efforts. Future Alaska Geotourism endeavors look to several Alaska communities to provide models for other Alaska communities interested in the geotourism approach. These pioneering communities are: the city of Craig, located on Prince of Wales Island in southeast Alaska http://www.craigak.com ; Seward, located on the shores of Prince William Sound at mile “0” of the Iditarod Trail http://www.cityofseward.us ; and communities in southwest Alaska.

Alaska Geotourism is looking at strategies to promote rural Alaska for those regions/villages that see Geotourism as a viable approach to maintain community health and community viability.

For more information, contact: Alaska Geotourism project co-chair Corey Hester via info@destinationcenter.org