Governor Mike Dunleavy is starring in a new commercial aimed at boosting tourism to Alaska this summer. This is part of a $ 5 million marketing campaign funded by federal COVID-19 aid funds.

The ad names the state as an exotic but COVID-safe locale to encourage independent travel in the context of the pandemic-related cruise ship cancellations.

While Alaska’s total number of coronavirus cases has plummeted, the 30-second visitor spot posted on Monday relies on outdated vaccination information.

The ad shows Dunleavy on a deck in Juneau’s Mount Roberts Tramway and shows footage of the Alaska Railroad, a kayaker near blue ice, bears catching fish, a moose, panning for gold and fishing, and a dog sled ride on a glacier.

“We invite you to come to our great condition this summer. If you want to look for glaciers, bears, gold … you name it, Alaska is the place, ”says the governor in a voice-over. “With one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, our employees are safe. And you will be too. “

Alaska led the nation in vaccination rates for a number of weeks starting in late January, a statistic that was partly backed by the success of the tribal health system in which rural residents of all ages were quickly vaccinated.

The state’s COVID-19 case numbers and hospital stay rates have declined year over year, although flare-ups have continued, most recently in Ketchikan and before that in Fairbanks and Mat-Su. Over the weekend, state health officials reported just 140 new confirmed positive results from Saturday through Monday, including just 50 on Monday.

But Alaska is nowhere near the top nationally when it comes to vaccine distribution.

The state ranked 30th among states and territories on Monday in terms of the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered per capita, according to a center for disease control tracker.

Alaska’s overall population vaccination rate was actually 41.2% as of Monday, below the US average of 42.5%, according to Bloomberg tracker.

Nationwide, almost half Of all Alaskans over 16, they are fully vaccinated. Some tourist regions are higher, like Juneau with almost 70%. However, some popular destinations stay well below this level, including Dunleavy’s home area of ​​Matanuska-Susitna Borough – where about a third of the population is vaccinated – or the Kenai Peninsula at about 40%.

When asked about the vaccination rate discrepancy, a governor spokesman said the video was shot “weeks ago” and Alaska was open for business, as the end of COVID-19 restrictions shows.

“With mask mandates falling, including in Anchorage and open-up communities across the state, vaccinations are a big reason for that,” spokesman Corey Allen Young wrote in an email.

He did not directly respond to an additional request asking for the governor’s response to the state’s drop in vaccine rankings or the ad’s use of outdated information.

The Dunleavy commercial is part of a wider effort announced last month Promoting Alaska tourism, which includes vaccinations for tourists at Alaska’s airports starting June 1st.

Tourism-related businesses across the state are entering a second summer without the big cruise ships that brings about two-thirds of Alaska’s travelers here; Last year’s losses were estimated at $ 3 billion.

The US Senate last week passed an invoice This could allow large cruise lines to visit Alaska this summer, despite Canadian restrictions that have closed that country to cruises. It has yet to pass through the house and be signed by President Joe Biden.

Like many others, the state is located in the middle of a state Lack of rental car That could make travel planning difficult this summer.

The money for the new ads comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) funds that have been made available to the Alaskan Legislature of the Dunleavy Administration, according to the governor’s office. The funding includes $ 4 million for television spots, $ 500,000 for radio and $ 500,000 for digital advertising – a total of 1,700 spots in nearly seven weeks.

The contract for the campaign was signed in accordance with a Information request The governor’s office closed in April. According to Young, the state received eleven expressions of interest, five from state-owned companies.

Brilliant Media Strategies for television were selected; Porcaro Communications for radio; and Optima Public Relations for Digital.

According to spokesman Jeff Samuels, the Alaska Travel Industry Association, the nonprofit that manages the nationwide marketing program for travel destinations in Travel Alaska, is making its website available for more information.

The association is running a separate national paid digital campaign to encourage travelers with the slogan “Go Big, Go Alaska”.

Tour groups and booths fill the waterfront in downtown Juneau on Sunday, June 2, 2019 as the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship ejects passengers. (James Brooks / ADN)

The news of the state advertising campaign was welcomed by members of the tourism industry who were still hit by pandemic losses.

Sales at Juneau’s Trove boutique gift shop declined 98% last year, according to co-owner Daren Booton.

“We are for anything that will help visitors grow,” said Booton. “It’s a huge hit for Juneau and Southeast Alaska. We are so dependent on the cruise industry. Anything we can do to empower the independent traveler when the cruise industry is not around is a good thing.”

The Alaska Railroad has postponed the start of this year’s season until after Memorial Day Weekend and is seeing a “decent number” of bookings, said spokesman Tim Sullivan. The railroad requires full masking and maintaining social distancing.

But without cruise lines, the outlook for this season is “not the best,” Sullivan said.

“This is something that is needed for the state,” he said of the advertising campaign. “We’re glad it happened.”

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