Promoting the borough can come from TV; also tourism may be played out, says long-time observer

Last week when the borough assembly approved funding for the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marking Council, it re-opened argument on whether it was money well-spent. Here are some excerpts from some who spoke before the assembly.
    Mayor Charlie Pierce said others are already doing the job without cost to the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Nikiski resident Wilma Hansen felt likewise.
    “Because there are shows on television promoting Alaska. There are people that you meet wherever you travel to and you mention Alaska and they're like, 'Oh my goodness, I want to go to Alaska.' And so I don't think the marketing is doing any more than what people traveling are doing,” she said. “And I don't think they need taxpayers money, especially as they're a nonprofit organization.”
    Soldotna resident and past borough mayoral candidate Fred Sturman said he thinks tourism may be played out.
    “I think we need to look at the people we have on the peninsula in the summertime. I think we have too many. And we can't make the tourism any bette, if we keep getting rid of our fish,” he said. “Folks, you know, there's other industries on the peninsula than tourism. And I think you need to look at those at more and better than you are now, because tourism has already maxed out.”
    Coming to the defense of the KPTMC was Shannon Davis, the organization’s one-time executive director, who now holds that position at the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce. She explained exactly how effective the organization was in leveraging its funding.
    “So at the height, we were bringing in about $250,000 from the private sector, which was then being used to market the borough. It's a great public private partnership, but it only works with the public side. It doesn't work on its own. If it was just on its own, we would just be a marketing agency. And there's lots of those for hire and they charge a lot more than KPTMC does for their services,” Davis said. “But it would be great for the industry to get a predictable funding source however, they came together to create that situation, it would be good.”
    And, she added, in response to one assembly member’s concern, that areas lacking in tourist traffic still share in the benefits of tourism dollars spent in the borough without the hassles it sometimes causes.