It is June 2024.  Todd Montgomery, Hospitality Management instructor and Sustainable Tourism Lab Founder/Director, asks if I would like to become a student employee in the Sustainable Tourism Lab at Oregon State University.  I’m not quite sure what that really means, but it sounds interesting, so I say yes!  Within a few weeks I receive this message:

“I know this sounds crazy, but would you like to go to Skagway, Alaska in a few weeks for a lab project?”  I couldn’t respond fast enough.  “Yes!  I would love to go.”

Skagway is 2,000 miles from my home on the Oregon Coast.  Having 4 children has limited my ability to travel further than even 200 miles from my hometown over the past 20 years.  Now I am on an airplane by myself to a state I never dreamed I’d visit.  I feel excited, anxious, and unsure as I step onto the Alaskan frontier knowing that after this week, I will somehow be affected in ways I can’t anticipate.

A beautiful small town of around 1,200 residents transforms into a bustling hub during its 6-month tourist season.  Between spring and fall, cruise ships arrive in droves, bringing nearly 7,000 visitors per day to Skagway.  Imagine the profound impact such an influx has on the community – both positive and challenging.  Before the summer of 2024, I never even realized that overtourism was a real phenomenon.

As I spend time in this small community, immersed in a full and ambitious itinerary, a flood of questions begins to emerge: Why would this community request a university student to travel such a great distance to engage with residents and gather information? Have I ever considered the deeper impact of my presence as a visitor? What information can I personally gather apart from the survey I am asking people to complete?  What does daily life look like for the people who call this place home?  Tell me more about the bears!  I find out several days into this trip there was a pesky bear raiding garbage cans within one block of where I have been walking all alone each morning at 6am.

In the end, I find myself asking more questions about their everyday experiences than were even included in my survey. Everyone was so gracious and more than willing to talk and share their perspectives.

As the heartbeat of the economy, tourism generates around 98% of Skagway’s revenue.  Its impact throughout the community is mostly beneficial though sometimes quite challenging.  Explore Skagway (DMO) desires to foster a sustainable, thriving community that is healthy for both current and future residents and visitors.  As the neutral 3rd party in partnership with Explore Skagway, I have been asked to engage with residents, bring awareness to the survey, and witness firsthand tourism’s impact on this remarkable town. 

I couldn’t have asked for a better 1st assignment than the unforgettable and beautiful Skagway, Alaska.