What Visit Anchorage does

Visit Anchorage, legally the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau, is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) established in 1975 by the Municipality of Anchorage. It serves four customer groups: leisure travelers to Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska, professional meeting and convention planners, travel-trade professionals (tour operators and travel advisors), and the approximately 700 local tourism businesses that make up its membership. The organization is governed by a volunteer board drawn from its membership base and from named partners including Alaska Airlines, Alaska Railroad, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, and the Municipality of Anchorage. Visit Anchorage celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025 and was re-accredited under the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) by Destinations International, placing it among roughly 10% of accredited DMOs.

Visit Anchorage's product suite is anchored by Anchorage.net — a destination planning portal built on the Simpleview CMS that logged 3.6 million sessions in 2025 — and by print and digital publications including the Official Guide to Anchorage, Local Flavor Restaurant Guide, and a monthly Calendar of Events. Physical Visitor Information Centers downtown (the Log Cabin) and inside Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport handled 181,493 visitors in 2025. Service lines are organized into Convention Sales & Service (with an RFP platform for meeting planners), Travel Trade Sales (tour operators, cruise lines, and advisors, with 12,260 travel advisors trained in 2025), Destination Services (membership and visitor experience), and Communications (Anchorage.net, social, video, PR). Marketing is delivered across paid advertising (331.9 million ad impressions in 2025), earned media (placements in Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and the Today Show), FAM tours, consumer travel shows, and direct sales.

The business model is funded primarily through Visit Anchorage's statutory one-third share of the Municipality's 12% bed tax; 2023 collections totaled approximately $45 million and Visit Anchorage's share was approximately $14–15 million. Secondary revenue comes from membership dues across 10 categories (most small businesses pay minimum annual dues), paid advertising in Visit Anchorage publications and on Anchorage.net, and marketing program fees. Convention sales drove an estimated $115 million in direct economic impact in 2025, and tourism at the destination generates approximately $1.09 billion in annual visitor spending, nearly 10,000 Anchorage jobs, and $44 million+ in local tax collections, which fund the DMO and municipal services without general-fund appropriation.

Name

Visit Anchorage

Legal name

Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau

Website

https://anchorage.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Visit Anchorage is a 501(c)(6) Destination Marketing Organization that markets Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska to leisure travelers, meeting planners, travel trade professionals, and roughly 700 member tourism businesses, funded primarily by a statutory share of the municipal bed tax.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Destination Marketing Services

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Destination Management (Ground Handling & Onsite Operations) (THAHADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Experiential & Cultural Programming (Tours, Activities, CSR/Voluntourism) (THAHADAF), Corporate Hospitality & VIP Services (Hosting, Protocol, Concierge) (THAHADAG)

Keywords

• Destination marketing
• Tourism promotion
• Convention sales
• Visitor services
• Travel trade

Headquarters

HQ city

Anchorage

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Bed Tax Revenue: The 12% bed tax collected by lodging facilities is split three ways: one-third to MOA general fund, one-third to service bond debt and operations of Anchorage Convention Centers, and one-third to Visit Anchorage for marketing functions. Bed tax collections in 2023 totaled almost $45 million, with Visit Anchorage receiving approximately $14-15 million for marketing.
2. Membership Dues: Annual dues from approximately 700 member businesses, with dues varying based on business type and size. Most members are small local businesses that qualify for minimum annual dues.
3. Advertising and Marketing Services: Paid advertising opportunities in Visit Anchorage publications including Official Guide to Anchorage, Local Flavor Restaurant Guide, Calendar of Events, and website properties. Marketing program fees supplement marketing funds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Visit Anchorage is the official destination marketing organization (DMO) for Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska. It markets the destination to leisure travelers, books conventions and meetings, sells the destination to tour operators and travel advisors, and supports approximately 700 member tourism businesses through membership services, publications, and cooperative advertising.

Product overview

Visit Anchorage operates as a destination marketing organization (DMO) offering a suite of integrated marketing services and visitor-facing platforms. The core product is Anchorage.net, a comprehensive destination website providing itineraries, events, accommodations, and travel planning tools. Supporting publications include the Official Guide to Anchorage (annual print/digital guide), Local Flavor Restaurant Guide, and monthly Calendar of Events. The organization provides direct visitor services through Visitor Information Centers downtown and at the airport. Business-facing offerings include membership programs with promotional opportunities, cooperative advertising, and networking events for approximately 700 member businesses. Sales divisions serve meeting planners (convention sales/RFP platform) and travel trade professionals (tour operators, travel advisors). E-newsletters and FAM tours round out the visitor and trade engagement services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Anchorage.net The official destination marketing website for Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska, providing travel information, itineraries, event listings, places to stay, restaurants, and booking guidance for leisure and business visitors.
• Official Guide to Anchorage The primary print and digital publication promoting Anchorage attractions, accommodations, and experiences, distributed through Visitor Information Centers and online.
• Local Flavor Restaurant Guide A dining guide featuring Anchorage restaurants, cafes, and entertainment venues, available in print and interactive digital formats.
• Calendar of Events Monthly event calendar published by Visit Anchorage listing Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska events, activities, and festivals.
• Visitor Information Centers Physical visitor centers located downtown (Log Cabin) and at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, providing travel information, brochures, and local guidance to travelers.
• Membership Services Business membership program offering promotional opportunities, cooperative advertising, networking events, industry training, and access to convention and tradeshow calendars and visitor leads for approximately 700 Alaska tourism businesses.
• Convention Sales & Service Sales team responsible for booking conventions, meetings, and events, providing custom proposals, educating planners on Anchorage venues, and servicing events once they are booked.
• Travel Trade Sales Sales team working with tour operators and travel advisors to increase year-round visitation through direct sales, destination training, and airline and cruise partnerships.
• Meetings & Conventions RFP Platform Online request for proposal system enabling meeting planners to submit event inquiries and receive custom proposals for Anchorage venues and services.
• E-Newsletter Email newsletter providing subscribers with travel deals, insider information, and updates on Anchorage events, attractions, and special offers.
• FAM Tours Familiarization tours for travel trade professionals and media, providing first-hand experience of Anchorage attractions, accommodations, and activities to support destination selling.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $1 billion in annual visitor spending in Anchorage
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alaska AirlinescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlaska Airlines serves as a board advisor and strategic partner, working with Visit Anchorage to increase air capacity and welcome new carriers into Southcentral Alaska. The partnership supports both visitor transportation and resident travel options.
• Alaska RailroadcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlaska Railroad is represented on the Visit Anchorage Board and is a key transportation partner for visitor experiences, offering scenic rail tours like the Glacier Discovery Train through Chugach Mountains.
• Ted Stevens Anchorage International AirportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe airport serves as a board advisor and operates the Visitor Information Center at the airport terminal. Partnership focuses on welcoming visitors and increasing air capacity to Anchorage.
• Cruise Line International Association Alaska (CLIA Alaska)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCLIA Alaska Vice Chair Lanie Downs serves on the Visit Anchorage Board. Southcentral cruise capacity reached 492,000 in 2025 with ports of Seward and Whittier.
• Adventure Green AlaskaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVisit Anchorage is certified through the Adventure Green Alaska program, which recognizes and promotes model Alaska tourism businesses practicing economic, environmental, social, and cultural sustainability.
• Anchorage Downtown PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRadhika Krishna from Anchorage Downtown Partnership serves as an ex-officio board advisor, supporting coordination between tourism promotion and downtown business development.
• Anchorage Economic Development Corporation (AEDC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAEDC President and CEO Jon Bittner serves as an ex-officio board advisor, supporting alignment between tourism marketing and economic development goals.
• Municipality of AnchoragecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Municipality of Anchorage has designated seats on the Visit Anchorage Board through representatives from the Anchorage Assembly and administration. The bed tax agreement funds tourism marketing, convention centers, and municipal services.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Visit Denver: Visit Denver is the official convention and visitors bureau and DMO for Denver, Colorado. It is directly comparable to Visit Anchorage as a mid-sized US city-level DMO funded primarily by local lodging tax, with parallel convention sales, travel trade, and content publication functions serving a similar urban-outdoor destination.
• Visit Seattle: Visit Seattle is the official DMO/CVB for Seattle, Washington. It is a close geographic and structural peer to Visit Anchorage—another Pacific Northwest urban gateway with strong cruise, meeting, and outdoor travel segments, and a similar scale of bed-tax-funded marketing operations.
• Visit Orlando: Visit Orlando is one of the largest US destination marketing organizations, operating a convention sales, travel trade, and content marketing model that mirrors Visit Anchorage's structure. Comparable as a city-level CVB funded by tourist development tax, focused on meetings and leisure promotion.
• Travel Portland: Travel Portland is the DMO/CVB for Portland, Oregon. It is comparable to Visit Anchorage as a smaller-to-mid-sized Northwest US DMO with shared outdoor-adventure and urban-experience positioning and a similar bed-tax funding model.
• Choose Chicago: Choose Chicago is the official DMO for Chicago, performing parallel destination marketing, convention sales, and member business services. It is comparable to Visit Anchorage in mission, revenue model (lodging tax-funded), and overall organizational design despite operating on a much larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• NYC & Company: NYC & Company is the official DMO for New York City. It performs the same destination marketing, convention sales, and member services functions as Visit Anchorage but at a dramatically larger scale and budget, making it a useful broad-incumbent reference point for the same DMO business model.
• Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board: LA Tourism operates the official DMO functions for Los Angeles with comparable convention sales and travel trade programs. It is a broad-incumbent peer to Visit Anchorage given its much larger scale and additional international market focus, but the core business model is highly aligned.
• Brand USA: Brand USA is the national DMO for the United States, marketing the entire country to international visitors. It is structurally analogous to Visit Anchorage as a public-private destination marketing organization funded through public and private sources, but operating at national rather than city level.
• Visit California: Visit California is the state-level DMO for California, performing comparable destination marketing, content creation, and travel trade programs. It is a broader incumbment to Visit Anchorage, operating at a state rather than municipal scale but executing on the same DMO playbook.

Regional players

• Tourism Toronto: Destination Toronto is the official CVB/DMO for Toronto, Canada, and is comparable to Visit Anchorage as a similarly scoped urban DMO. It is a regional peer due to its cross-border Canadian operations rather than direct competition in Anchorage's market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VisitAnchorage
• Facebookfacebook.com/VisitAnchorageAK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/visit-anchorage

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Visit Anchorage