Banner photo: The Alaskan Dream visits the Haida community of Kasaan on Prince of Wales Island. This image was taken in 2019 during an Allen Marine tour to Kasaan along the Totem Trail to the Whale House and to visit with two local artists in their shops.
Regenerative Tourism is a holistic approach to tourism that proactively works to improve ecosystems, elevate local economies, and promote meaningful and responsible visitor experiences. Authentic local representation, deep community involvement, and practical and innovative steps for conserving and enhancing the environment are central to this approach. Regenerative Tourism reveals how the industry can protect, enable, and grow strategies that benefit communities, cultures, and ecosystems of Southeast Alaska.
Mary: Please tell us about yourself and your business.
Zak: My name is Zak Kirkpatrick and I serve as the Corporate Marketing Director for the Allen Marine Group of companies. This includes the company most are familiar with: Allen Marine Tours. Allen Marine Tours works primarily with the large cruise lines in the summer to bring their guests on glacier tours, culinary experiences and whale watching excursions. Many people are familiar with the signature Allen Marine boat, which is a 78 foot catamaran and accommodates 150 people. What some may not realize is Allen Marine builds boats right here in Sitka, Alaska. That segways to another company in the Allen Marine group–Allen Marine Incorporated. The largest operation within this entity is our shipyard. We build boats and perform haulouts of other vessels. The final company in the group is Alaskan Dream Cruises, which is a small ship cruise line. We have six vessels now. The smallest holds just ten people. Our newest boat, the Kruzof Explorer, carries twelve guests. The Kruzof was a former Bering Sea Crab boat, so it has a really unique and intriguing Alaskan heritage. Our largest boat in the Alaskan Dream Cruise fleet can hold up to 76 passengers. Cruises are typically about a week long.
Mary: How does the Allen Marine Group incorporate regenerative tourism into business?
Zak: The first thing that comes to my mind is that the Allen Marine Group is owned and operated by the Allen family–an Alaskan Native family. The current owner, Dave Allen, was born and raised here in Sitka. It is important to the Allen family that we work with locals, especially in Alaska Native villages. Our approach is to work with local stakeholders in order to make our operations sustainable–we never want to just impose our will as a big company on others. We start out by asking how they envision the visitor industry in their neck of the woods. This ensures that they control the narrative. The visitation is on their terms.
Mary: What practical steps has Allen Marine Group taken to protect, conserve, and improve our ecosystem?
Zak: Sustainability is a big buzz word in tourism right now. We want action behind everything we talk about. We try to be a company of action. So we are driving the conversation on sustainability and what we can do better. We have done things throughout the years, like participating in the Sitka Global Warming Group and Adventure Alaskan Green Programs. We are currently pursuing a much larger, more detailed global sustainability certificate and hired someone specifically to work on such sustainability efforts. The pandemic changed our employee force drastically, however, as we move forward, we are working on picking up the pieces and pursuing those efforts in earnest again.
Mary: Has Allen Marine Group taken any innovative steps to making a difference in the health of our oceans and forests or worked towards combating climate control?
Stormy Hamar of Kasaan Arts explains the process of building a dugout canoe to visitors off an Allen Marine Vessel in Kasaan.
Zak: We know that we are just a very small business in the scheme of the global industry, but it is definitely a feeling of ours that if everyone does small things–their own part–then that will enact really big change. For example, we built Fin Island Lodge just a few years ago. The lodge has an array of solar panels. It went most of the summer of 2019 running on solar energy. Which is amazing! We also have an array of solar panels on the Kruzof Explorer, our new boat. We’re eliminating single use plastics to the greatest extent possible. We are working on removing paper by digitizing our route maps. We won’t be printing hundreds of thousands of maps on paper that might get thrown away. We also govern our speed limit and adjust our itineraries so we don’t have to push so hard and burn so much fuel. Those are a few examples.
Mary: You’re an Alaskan owned company. I know personally some of the stories of the great efforts made to hire local employees, as well as promoting other local businesses. Everyone in Southeast felt it really hard when Allen Marine felt it hard. Allen Marine is a large contributor to Southeast Communities, not only because your company works hard to hire locally but also because your company donates a considerable amount.
Zak: Allen Marine has grown over the years to become a pretty large company and at one point we had over 550 seasonal employees and around 150 full time employees. People think of tourism as just being a seasonal job, but at Allen Marine there is a lot year-round full-time work offered. When we look to hire people we obviously look for the most qualified candidates. Oftentimes it’s the people that live right here – Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan, and the small villages and towns of Southeast. These are also the people that can really help create a good experience for guests. We work hard to offer authentic local experiences. We want people to know when they are with Allen Marine, they are exploring with the locals. When they’re with Alaskan Dream Cruises it’s true Alaska with true Alaskans. It’s always in our best interest to hire locally! We love receiving local applications.
Mary: An important aspect of Regenerative Tourism is giving back. Allen Marine has given back over the years. The pandemic has not only affected employees, but school districts and other businesses and organizations that have benefitted from your financial support or educational experiences.
Zak: Absolutely, this is something that is actually kind of personal to me. I was born and raised in Juneau and I have memories of being on Allen Marine boats from a young age–whether it was sports trips or field trips for things like science classes. Besides schools, we also support many non profits. But, youth activities have definitely been one of the largest focuses of Allen Marine.
Visitors step off the Allen Marine vessel and into the rainforest where they are greeted by Michael Chilton on a tour of the Whale House in Kasaan.
Everything trickles down, and that is why it is so important to control this pandemic and turn things around. If the cruise industry is hit, Allen Marine is hit, and everything we support on a local level is affected. Our retail program has grown over the years, and this I believe is due to the fact that we purchase from local retailers and offer Made in Alaska products–local beers, jellies, salmon products, kelp pickles, local art, etc. If we are not in business because the visitor industry is in shambles, these local businesses are hit as well. I think the region is seeing the importance of the visitor industry. We hope that Alaska can see that our visitor industry is not just a take, take, take industry. It is an industry that can be very sustainable, respectful to the land and the people. And that is Allen Marine’s mantra.
Mary: Southeast Alaska is home to the Tlingit, Tsimshian and Haida people, how do you incorporate indigenous knowledge systems or values in your business?
Zak: I can see those inspiring Alaska Native values in a lot of the business decisions that the Allen family makes. When I think of things, like honoring ancestors but also future generations, having a general respect for all things, people, places and honoring the land–that comes through in their business decisions. The solar panels in our new lodge and vessel, the biodegradable utensils–and the end of the day these are all ways to reverence the land.
They also always strive to provide cultural perspective on every topic. So if we are educating guests on salmon we will give the science and facts, but then we have a true Alaskan guide talk about the significance of salmon to the Alaskan Native people. Cultural education is so important to us–which is a major reason why we value our visits to remote villages so much. Here guests learn all about Alaska Native value systems in the stories of dances, totems, harvest, etc.
Mary: When talking about Regenerative Tourism, one of the positive outcomes is being able to offer meaningful and responsible visitor experiences. Are you able to accomplish this through your business?
Zak: Yes. I think we are able to. There is always room for improvement, and we always strive to continually change and grow and improve. But we are proud of the experiences we provide. We always ensure that before we call in a community, we provide some context and education on the history and the background of the place. This allows guests to have a much more meaningful experience.
Mary: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me today. Moving forward, what is one message you would like to leave with aspiring or fellow tourism businesses?
Zak: When you are thinking of the visitor industry or opportunities you want to get into, make sure to have a brainstorming session and try to get out of the box and come up with innovative ideas. There are so many things that can be done outside of the common tour, such as whale watching. If you are a company that is upstarting in one of the smaller villages and are interested in cultural experiences, know that there are so many people eager to learn. Think outside the box on what you can offer. Guests are often all ears to hear about our unique lifestyles. They want to soak it all in, the lifestyle, the subsistence harvest, the culture. Push yourself into innovative thinking.
Mary: Where can visitors learn more about your company and book a tour? Can you share your best deal for those who are reading this message, or is there any special you can offer our readers?
Zak: We always encourage locals to be on the lookout for specials. We want to make sure locals have the opportunity to explore their own backyard. Check in with www.Alaskandreamcruises.com and www.allenmarine.com. Also, check in with our reservation team here in Sitka. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram or better yet, sign up for our newsletter. We’ll keep you posted on our best deals.
Mary: Now with covid issues, do you think Regenerative tourism is pushed to the background, or more important than ever?
Zak: Covid threw a lot of wrenches in many business plans, and has cast doubt on what the industry will look like in the future. But it’s also a time to reconsider priorities, double down on our strong commitment to our core values and work towards a bright future. We are in constant communication with Alaska Native communities as they work to rebound along with the industry. As always, we listen intently to their voices, and will work in tandem to bounce back!
To sign up for regional Regenerative Tourism news and updates, email mgoddard@allenmarine.com.
