Fairbanks Interior Tourism Conference brings industry leaders together

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - Over 100 members of the Fairbanks community gathered on Wednesday for the 17th Interior Tourism Conference.

The roster for the one-day event included updates on various year-round tourism projects around the Interior, including a new planetarium at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a viewing platform for historical Bus 142, and a new location for the Fountainhead Transportation Museum.

Scott McCrea, President and CEO of tourism facilitator at Explore Fairbanks, offered a look at the future of tourism in the region with a “State of the Industry” presentation.

He said the conference is meant to bring industry leaders together to discuss topics regarding tourism.

McCrea discussed the growth of winter tourism in the Interior, including “growing that Aurora market and helping develop Fairbanks into being a very vibrant year-round destination and what that does for economy, what that does for jobs, what that does for quality of life within the community.”

According to McCrea, in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, there are about 7,700 jobs related to the tourism industry.

“Especially here in Fairbanks, in terms of economic development, tourism industry is such a great example, when you look at it from the standpoint of new dollars coming in, jobs that are created,” he said.

McCrea said he’s been discussing the need for a convention center in town — one that opened in November 2024, with another expected in the next year.

“We can grow the meetings and convention market, and meetings and conventions, you look across the country, the big times of the year that they tend to be held is during those months of April and October. That happens to coincide with what are some of the slower times of the year within our winter season,” McCrea explained.

Attendee Alyssa Handy, Consultant with Information Insights, called the conference informative and said there was good information presented.

“I loved the ability for them to share both insights on how that tourism looks for southeast and what we can expect both this summer as well as some projections for 2026,” Handy said.

More information about tourism in Alaska and Fairbanks can be found on the Explore Fairbanks website.

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