Winter tourism continued to build, and Fairbanks saw charter flights from Asia again for aurora-watching. “We’ve always had visitors to see the aurora but until recently we did not have a strategic marketing effort around it,” with development of the services to support it. There’s more than the aurora, with snow machine and dog sled tours. “March has become incredibly busy. March is the new June,” the month that traditionally kicked off the visitor season, McCrea said. David Albert, National Park Service: Denali is a key destination for land tours and the visitor count was up in 2023 although final figures will not be available until next year. Meanwhile, bridge construction over a slide area mid-way on the 99-mile Denali Park Road continues and will be completes in time for the 2026 season, Albert said. For 2024 and 2025 the Park Service is working to enhance the visitor experience on trails and at campgrounds on the first half of the road which remains open. Housing continues to be a problem for seasonal workers in the Denali area and the explosion of Bed and Breakfast establishments has taken rooms and apartments out of the market that would have accommodated workers. — COMPILED BY TIM BRADNER Photos by Judy Patrick www.AKRDC.org 25
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