With its gorgeous landscapes and wide array of recreational opportunities, Wrangell offers a wealth of attractions to would-be tourists. However, due to the day-to-day demands of municipal government, borough officials have been unable to devote as much attention as they would like to marketing the community as a vacation destination — until now.
The borough assembly unanimously approved adding a marketing and community development coordinator to the staff at its meeting Jan. 12.
The coordinator will work under the economic development director, promoting the community to the tourism industry.
In the past, tourism development was included in the economic development director’s job description, along with permitting, grant writing, community planning and outreach, negotiating on behalf of the borough and more. Because of the job’s vast scope, Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore has been able to do “just enough to get by” to promote Wrangell as a tourist destination.
“There’s a lot do and a lot of it’s not getting done,” Rushmore told the borough assembly at a work session Jan. 10. “So I think that this will be a very important position and the emphasis should be on the promotion and the marketing aspect of it.”
Borough Manager Jeff Good explained that the coordinator would help the borough put “heads in beds” — bringing more overnight visitors to town — to drive economic growth. The staffer will also help the borough conduct the long-term planning necessary to make Wrangell desirable to visitors.
“Competition for visitors to stay and spend money in Wrangell as part of their Alaska itinerary is tremendous,” Rushmore wrote in a report to the assembly. “Without this full-time position to focus on community marketing of all Wrangell’s assets and business needs, the industry will not grow, and Wrangell will miss out on critical job opportunities and economic growth.”
The coordinator will develop a tourism plan, field visitor questions, represent the borough at trade shows, manage its social media presence, produce analytics to measure its tourism growth and make connections with key industry figures like influencers, travel writers and regional organizations.
Their role may also motivate an expanded marketing budget in the future. The current marketing budget of around $50,000 to $60,000 “does not allow you to do hardly anything,” Rushmore said. “Advertising itself is extremely expensive.” Once a coordinator is hired, she suggested increasing their budget to $100,000, which could allow the borough to participate in trade shows and hire professional videographers.
“It’s certainly economic development,” Mayor Patty Gilbert said of the job description. “I think this will move us forward. It’s marketing Wrangell. … I think we’ll realize the impact from making these expenditures.”
She also noted the “tremendous community support” for the position. Jake Harris of the Stikine Inn, Nolan Center Director Cyni Crary, Forest Service District Ranger Victoria Houser, five members of the Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau and seven members of the Stikine River Jet Boat Association all expressed their support through letters to borough officials and the assembly.
The assembly on Jan. 12 also unanimously approved a construction and facilities manager position to inspect facilities and supervise maintenance.
The new staffer will ease the burden on Capital Facilities Director Amber Al-Haddad by overseeing construction, performing inspections for code compliance and more. “This position … helps us get into a planned maintenance schedule,” said Good. It will also “(make) sure that the people who are doing the builds are doing what our specifications say.”
The borough has struggled to become a member of the National Flood Insurance Program because its codes are not up to standard, Al-Haddad said.
The assembly had postponed its decision on adding the two new positions at its December meeting. After approving the job description for a borough controller, members felt uncertain about moving forward with two additional employees and scheduled a work session to assess the value that the roles would add to the municipal government.
Both roles were approved after the work session Jan. 12.
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