Visit Alaska – Make a Plan
A love of landscape is not new in Alaska. In a place so beautiful, with the strong cultural values of Alaska Native peoples, reducing our impact on the environment is only natural. We know that sustainable travel – considering environmental, social, cultural, and business practices as part of the travel process – is important to Alaska, our communities, and our future.
And it’s easier than you might think to tread more lightly when you visit.
These four steps are a fantastic way to get started:
1. Pack A Little Lighter
No one likes to carry around heavy suitcases, and Alaskans are pretty laid back when it comes to fashion, so bring just what you need when you’re filling your suitcase. It’s easy if you plan to dress in layers, re-wear items, and remove packaging from anything new you bought for the trip. Less weight in your suitcase means less energy – human or mechanical – is needed to move stuff around, reducing your transportation carbon footprint.
Wondering what you need to bring? There’s a packing list in The Alaska Vacation Planner.
2. Buy Local Eat Local
Buying goods and services locally – including hiring local guides – not only cuts down on shipping and transportation costs, it helps support local families and communities. You’ll also get to know more about local people and cultures by connecting one-on-one with Alaska residents. Is there something you’ve always wanted to know about living in Alaska? Here’s your chance to ask! And, by eating local foods, you’ll get to try wild Alaska salmon and halibut, locally grown (giant!) veggies, and regional favorites while supporting Alaska fishermen, farmers, and craft food and beverage-makers. While shopping, look for the Alaska Grown, Made in Alaska, and Silver Hand labels to signify Alaska-produced items.
3. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
The “3Rs” is a common theme for promoting sustainability and they make sense (Did you know nearly half of all plastic produced is only designed to be used once?). Reduce your footprint by bringing an extra reusable shopping bag to carry your locally produced purchases and using your own refillable water bottle or coffee mug for daily use. Plus, those water bottles and coffee mugs are great places to put travel decals and stickers from all the great places you’re going to visit!
4. Choose Sustainably Certified Tourism Businesses
Look for TravelAlaska.com’s advertising partners with the Adventure Green Alaska (AGA) logo. The AGA program certifies tourism businesses operating in Alaska based on economic, environmental, and social sustainability standards. AGA monitors compliance, and certified businesses must renew every two years to maintain certification. They’re the green team!
Are you Fishing?
The biggest problem with fishing in Alaska is making decisions-saltwater or fresh, salmon, trout or halibut, guided or unguided, remote lodge or road system, spring or fall, summer or winter, Southeast or Interior, Alaska Peninsula or Aleutians-the list of options is nearly endless. However, whether you’re a die-hard fly fishing purist or a visitor who’d just like to catch a couple salmon to take home for friends and family, you can fulfill your fishing fantasies in Alaska.
Northern Lights Trip?
This Far North phenomenon turns an average winter, fall or spring night into a widescreen extravaganza like nothing else. When you see the lights for the first time, there are no words, no description, to match their magnificence. You can only watch in wonder. Such beauty is a rare and oft-admired thing.
Much More.