Looking Forward To Road Tourism This Summer. It's All About Independent Travelers

COPPER RIVER COUNTRY JOURNAL  

Fishermen at the Gulkana River bridge. (Archive photo, Country Journal) 

Half Of All Alaska’s Visitors Are Independents 

…And They’re Our People  

1.5 Million Visitors Will Roam  

Our Rural Roads This Summer – Looking For Us 

Extended family at the Copper Valley Chamber visitor center.
(Archive photo, Country Journal)

The Alaska Travel Industry has estimated that over three million people visited Alaska in 2024-2025. That’s a lot. Unfortunately, though, 40% of those are cruise passengers who then just turn around and go straight back home. 

Independents – The Ones That Explore Alaska

On the roads of Alaska, our small businesses work with the other 50% of visitors who come here as “independents.” What we are looking for are the “real” visitors — the 1.5 million road travelers who actually want to see Alaska, and meet Alaskans on the highways. 

Our customers are the independent road warriors that drive the roads; the people who are committed to learning, traveling, and gaining a genuine understanding of Alaska. 

RVers gather to stage in the parking lot of the Hub. (Archive photo, Country Journal)

Independent Travelers Spend Nearly Twice As Much 

Independents criss-cross Alaska’s dozens of towns and communities. They’re roaming the state, looking for adventure.

They hire fishing guides, and stay in campgrounds and small hotels, and poke around in visitor centers, buying souvenirs and stuffing dollar bills in the donation jar for the volunteers working there. 

Our People

These are our people – the ones who go to Alaska’s towns and communities, driving our narrow two-lane roads. 

And then there are the Alaskans, our neighbors who are so important economically to many communities. They truck on down over the weekends to Seward, Soldotna, Homer, Valdez, McCarthy, the Gulkana River – or to Fairbanks, Denali, and all the small towns in-between. 

This group of bunkbound Alaskan city dwellers has a dream... to reconnect with us out in the countryside, and remind themselves every summer why they came here in the first place. 

This is going to be a challenging summer 

We never know what to expect. But we do know that there will be people on our highways — both Independents and Alaskans.

Businesses of rural Alaska need every single independent traveler we can get.

This is the year to push forward, not hang back. It’s a time for holding fast and getting out the word, running our businesses well, serving the public – and holding steady. As has been true since the Gold Rush, small rural businesses are the cornerstone of Alaska tourism and our economy.