Alaska Wildland Adventures has announced an Escape to Alaska or Bust Essay Contest. The rules appear to be simple: in 500 words or less, convince Alaska Wildland Adventures why you and your group should escape to Alaska this summer. You could win an Alaska Trip for four people (two cabins for the family or group) with Alaska Wildland Adventures, featuring the new Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge. The tour is 8 Day / 7 Night Action-Packed Wilderness Lodge and Wildlife Expedition, Valued at Over $12,000.

The second and third place winners in the contest receive discount coupons for Alaska vacation packages from Alaska Wildland Adventures during the 2009 summer season.

See the Alaska Wildland Adventures’ Escape to Alaska website for the details.

I just finished attending the Alaska Travel Industry Association’s annual convention. Given that the 2008 summer season was flat for most tour operators, there is growing anxiety about the 2009 season. I heard several businesses state that it was time to invest more in marketing to remain competitive.

For marketers, and Internet marketers in particular, tough economic times may serve as a unique opportunity to try new marketing initiatives and gain more clients. One the other hand, aggressive marketing strategies may not produce the hoped-for results for the client in these uncertain economic times. It could be stressful for everyone involved if increased spending on Internet marketing does not produce.

It will certainly be interesting over the winter to see how things shake out.

There’s a very interesting post over at Marketing Pilgrim, about a study showing that 93% of American consumers want to see businesses on social media sites.

I see a few take home points for Alaska tour operators:

• People want use social media to solve problems and to conduct research
• Potential visitors will be looking for reviews and comments from your past customers
• Businesses should not use social media only as a means to force branding messages, but rather a means for open discussion and evaluation of products and services

The research suggests that people won’t necessarily use social media to evaluate businesses often, but I think social media could be particularly important for those researching their once in a lifetime trip to Alaska. Many people will do significant research for their Alaska vacation, and social media profiles, along with open discussion and positive feedback from past guests, could make your business stand out in the crowd.

Now that the 2008 summer travel season is winding down in Alaska, it’s time to start looking ahead to 2009. I encourage all businesses involved in Alaska tourism to update their owner’s page on Trip Advisior. There are a number of great tools provided by Trip Advisor for owners, including: the ability to post photos, videos, descriptions, notifications of new reviews, and more.

If at all possible, sign up for a RSS feed of any reviews that are posted about your business. This is great way to stay updated on reviews, and gives you the opportunity to engage your customers. If you receive any negative reviews, respond to their concerns, try to offer solutions, and you can show potential customers that you genuinely care. You might be able to turn a negative review into a positive outcome by showing your involvement and concern.

The value of engaging past and future customers is enormous. Get a leg up on your competition for the 2009 travel season now and update your owner’s page on Trip Advisor.

If you solicit feedback from your customers, you can also encourage them to go to Trip Advisor and post their reviews of your business.