Key Takeaways from the Community Listening and Engagement Tour

Last fall, the consulting team spent a week hosting workshops and community meetings to take a deeper dive into the tourism landscape and understand the priority issues around tourism for Ketchikan.

During this time, a formal community meeting was scheduled for Thursday, October 6. With very limited attendance, the team responded with coordinating a pop-up event at Art Night with an information table at Creek Street. The Borough and consulting team connected with ~50 Ketchikan residents to share project updates and gather feedback on the general approach and specific to identified proposed solutions for transportation and visitor behaviors. This was a very productive engagement opportunity.

The following high-level Topics of Interest is a summary of issues raised during the onsite visit and documented in the draft Situation Analysis Report. These will be further refined in preparation for the next and final phase of the project, underway right now, when the community works together on proposed solutions:

• Diversify and create a year-round economy

• Comprehensive visitor management system

• Address staffing shortages

• Celebrate culture and heritage

• Strain on year-round and seasonal workforce housing

Read more about the topics of interest and the next phase of the process to develop Ketchikan's Tourism Strategy at the link below.

https://ktntalk.com/15682/widgets/47899/documents/40015