[Above: Whales near Craig, Alaska. Photo: Jonathan Tourtellot]

Alaska Claims First Geotourism TEDx Talk

Stories are what makes a destination special and visiting Alaska is especially Special.

Earlier this year AlaskaGeotourism was one of the featured sessions at TEDx Anchorage 2015. Last March the sixth annual TEDxAnchorage convened Alaska businesses and individuals to share ideas, technologies, design, and education to help create a better future for Alaska.

The 2015’s theme was: “Energize Alaska: The Power Within. Industry, Story and Power” and one of the selected speakers included Corey Hester, AlaskaGeotourism co-chair, and currently Communications Director for the Anchorage Chamber always comments “Geotourism is a growing niche within Alaska’s evolving industry, the tourism industry in Alaska that is expanding pretty rapidly and geotourism especially for our communities located outside of Anchorage is a Special Opportunity!”

What is a TED Talk? “The point of a TED Talk is to explain a big idea, something new, a new way of thinking that people haven’t thought of before,” said Clare Ross, who is on the board of directors for TEDx Anchorage.(See http://www.akbizmag.com/Media-Arts/TEDx-Anchorage-2015-is-Energize-Alaska-the-Power-Within/

Corey’s TED Talk was the first time that Geotourism concept has been presented in the TED Talk format, as reported on KTVA-TV: http://www.ktva.com/6th-annual-tedx-anchorage-industry-story-and-power-449/

This type of story telling can be an important vehicle for conveying what is truly unique about our Alaska “gateway” destinations such as Seward (90 road mile south of Anchorage ) and gateway to the Kenai Fjords National Park and one of the communities President Obama visited just last month in his historic visit to Alaska… and which Corey through his work with the Anchorage Chamber was integrally involved with helping in organize the local ground logistics for President Obama’s Anchorage meetings.

Much can be gained from Corey’s highly entertaining TED talk experiences, along how he got involved in doing a TED talk and what he learned in telling his AlaskaGeotourism story will be one of the hi-light sessions of the 2016 International Green Energy Conference that will be coming to the Anchorage Hilton next March. (See http://www.iage-net.org/igec11/ )