With Sitka’s largest-ever tourist season underway – with as many as 400,000 cruise ship passengers this summer – a consultant visited town last month and suggested possible improvements to visitor experiences. A crosswalk at a busy downtown street, more signs and more outdoor seating, and brighter paint colors on buildings would help, he said.
Representing an organization called the Destination Development Association, Roger Brooks travels the globe assessing popular tourism sites and reporting his findings to the locals.
Brooks was in Sitka under a contract with the city tourism bureau Visit Sitka, and delivered his report Aug. 12 at a public meeting. He specified that he views the town through the lens of an independent traveler.
“We look at Sitka — is this the place we want to live, retire, raise a family, is it a place we would want to come and start a business or move a business or just work here? The entire focus of this whole thing is what else can be done locally to make Sitka an even better, stronger, more desirable destination,” he said in his presentation.
Brooks emphasized the importance of navigational signs and accessibility, such as a crosswalk. He also suggested widening sidewalks in the downtown area.
“You could make this about people and if you double the width of your sidewalks, you could have sidewalk dining out there, you could have more room for those (shop) displays, benches, pots, flowers and best of all — people. Make downtown about people not cars, remove parallel parking and double the width of your sidewalks,” Brooks recommended.
While he frequently commented on the beauty of Sitka and its surroundings, he joked that the range of building colors is limited and drab.
“Why does just about every building in Sitka have to be gray, brown or beige? On a gray, cloudy day you can’t even tell the difference between the buildings and the sky.”
While he and his staff were in town for a week, they rented a vehicle and drove to both ends of the road network. They had trouble finding the Alaska Raptor Center and the Fortress of the Bear on Sawmill Creek Road.
“We drove by both the Raptor Center and Fortress of the Bear twice because their signs are set way off – they are used to tour buses bringing everybody there,” Brooks said. “What about the rest of us? It will increase visitor spending; studies have shown that wayfinding will increase visitor spending by 18% to 22%, and, you know what, that’s the benefit of tourism, bringing more cash into Sitka.”
The fee for the visit by Brooks and his team was $25,000, funded by the city’s transient lodging tax.
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