Second traveler in Alaska report

Could not agree more about the locals wanting our business. They are having staff issues in part due to the additional $300 stipend for those collecting unemployment and lack of foreigners who do many of the service jobs but will still do their best to ensure you happiness.

As for observing the situation pertaining in the Fairbanks area, this statement was a degree true early on in May getting ready for summer tourist season - however it is someway misleading after the tourist season had started :

There is still not a great demand right now in the tourist and service industry (in comparison to a more higher demand in the construction and industrial sectors) is the real reason why businesses are not fully committing to hire as much as they normally would by having crews short staffed when there are any increased peaks in business, as a lot of the tourist and hospitality related businesses are either still closed or have limited hours as that statement is spot on in the other thread....

Saturday June 12 was the final week for those still collecting the federal stipend if there job loss was covid related, as the state of Alaska decided to cut off the program altogether, and reinstated mandatory job search requirements....

Cruise ships are authorized to enter Alaska ports starting on July 1, as the state planned this target date earlier in the year as Canada prohibited any cruise ships to enter their ports for all of 2021, while the United States Congress had waived the mandatory Canadian waters and or foreign port requirement prior to inbound cruise ship arrivals to Alaska, so there will be some hiring demand for only a 2 to 3 month timeframe as cruise ships and buses will start playing part.

They say only 5 percent of all Alaska visitors during the summer are RV'ers as I beg to differ - they visit for much longer and cover more areas and contribute a great deal in comparison to a typical cruise ship patron would.

At least we have two returning diehard Alaska visitors that arrived and rented an RV that posted another great visit.

Reference to not seeing out of state RV's in Alaska, I can vouch for that as over a month ago I had seen only one RV (deluxe class C) that had an out of state plate all summer - Alabama....the driver wasn't military looking, the rig was way full of dirt all around, and was heading into Fairbanks on the inbound Richardson Hwy.

Either the dirt line was from the Alaska Hwy, Denali Hwy, Taylor Hwy, or perhaps the Dalton Hwy if the RV was previously there prior before...

To me it sure looked like it traveled thru the Alaska Hwy as I am wondering what excuse this party had to come thru Canada that was essential enough, as it didn't appear there were any other belongings being hauled upon, no trailer, etc....

Then again the rig might have sailed on a cross ferry to get to Alaska, hit the Denali Hwy and got all dirty too by the time I spotted it....who knows as I am still curious about it.