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I am not a huge fan of ideas/things that serve a single purpose. Whether it's tools/gadgets/widgets that only do one thing or being dependent on one industry for your local economy.
I experienced the latter this past week when my wife and visited Alaska, a long overdue trip, as we initially intended to visit there for our honeymoon. Well, we can now check that off the bucket list.
Much of the state is supported by one of three industries: tourism, oil, or government, though the latter two might actually be the same. We visited a few places that were dependent on tourism, with locals saying that without 2,000-12,000 people visiting daily between May 15 and September 20, they couldn’t exist. Another place we visited, Juneau, wouldn’t exist without the cruise ships or being the state's capital.
It was a fascinating trip on many levels, including that I can’t recall the last time my wife and I spent so much time together. One interesting element was how extreme places were about preventing the spread of illness. Everywhere we went, we heard or saw warnings about the spread of diseases. There was sanitizer everywhere, people were masked, especially employees, and there was a high use of cloth napkins and hand towels. I figured the spread of illness information was a remnant of COVID days. Nope, it's all current. Turns out, when you have a shortage of employees or a limited window to separate tourists from their disposable income, you don’t want employees to be sick or have the customers get sick because they visited you.
Tourism in Alaska lasts roughly four months. I spoke with many people who work their hearts out with limited days off and little to no vacation or holiday time, to earn and save money, and then come late September, they take a deep breath. Seriously. One woman told me she works six-hour days, seven days a week. Another said they work 40 hours in three days and then have a day-and-a-half off, followed by the 40-hour schedule. She said she really doesn’t think in days, rather in May to September.
Tourism in Alaska also involves many immigrants. Regardless of age, we interacted with many people from other countries. I thought back to the ban on H-1B visas a few years ago. This must have slowed Alaskan tourism incredibly.
The other main industry is government. Every resident, including children, receives an oil dividend in October. Some years it's $1,000; other years, it's over $3,000. In addition, state and federal governments are the largest employers in many places, especially when you count military installations. We met a tour guide who works for the government and then does tours on the weekends because of the high cost of living.
All that said. It’s a spectacular place to visit. We met nice people, saw amazing sites, and had a great time.
One interesting fact: energy prices are high. While they produce oil, they do not refine it there. All the drilled oil is transported to the lower 48 states (mostly in Seattle, Washington), refined, and brought back. Why? Turns out refining oil is not environmentally friendly and, above all, Alaska wants to protect the environment, in large part because of tourists.
Interesting note number two: the most popular expenditures for the oil dividend: winter trips to Hawaii and buying new cars, boats, or airplanes.
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