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Tourism traffic is picking up, and that's good news for Cook Inlet Region Inc.
Of the 12 Alaska Native regional corporations, CIRI is the most heavily vested in state tourism with its operations that include lodging, marine tours and package deals stretching from Fox Island in the Kenai Fjords to Talkeetna 60 miles from Mount McKinley.
In 2007 and 2008, not including investments in private equities and securities, CIRI's tourism and hospitality business was its largest revenue generator according to annual reports. CIRI recorded revenue from tourism of $23.6 million in 2007 and $23.9 million in 2008.
In 2009, CIRI's gross tourism revenue dropped by 31.7 percent from $23.9 million to $16.3 million. According to a McDowell Group Inc. report prepared annually for the state Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, visitors to Alaska declined by 124,100 in 2009 compared to 2008.
Nearly all the 2009 decline was attributable to loss of air passengers arriving in Alaska, falling by just more than 116,000 travelers.
The state tourism business took a further hit in 2010, when cruise ship passengers dropped by 92,000 from 2009. to 742,700. Between air and cruise travelers, visitors to Alaska are down from a peak of 1.71 million in 2007 to 1.5 million in 2010.
Doyon Ltd., the Interior Alaska regional corporation, saw gross revenue from its Denali National Park properties and wilderness tours decline from $4.8 million in 2007 to $3.05 million in 2009. Doyon has more than made up for decreases in net income since 2007, however, with government services and construction.
The $2.5 million in net income from Doyon's tourism operations accounted for...