The company operates small group tours out of Girdwood. Their tour packages range from one-day fishing and rafting trips on the Kenai River to extended hiking trips in Chugach National Forest, Denali National Park and Preserve and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Their goal is to provide "rustic but authentically Alaskan" adventures.

One cause Hoessle attributed to the decline in tourism is that Alaska has been less competitive in attracting the people who were still willing to travel after Sept. 11. Other states launched aggressive marketing campaigns last year in an effort the get their piece of the declining tourism dollar.

Another big effect on the business, according to Hoessle, was that the cruise industry offered discount prices last year, making it more cost-effective for travelers to take cruise vacations. Also, many people viewed cruises, especially to Alaska, as being safer than other vacation alternatives.

"Cruise companies are very shrewd and they have a lot of money to market," he said, adding that it was difficult for smaller operations to compete with them.

Small businesses have had to adapt and change with the new tourism trends. Even the booking trends have changed since the Sept. 11 attacks. Before the attacks, the company would receive half of its bookings before the first of the year, said Hoessle. Now, people are waiting until later to book vacations.

Last year the company received a majority of its reservations in May. The result has been that the company does not know how well they are doing until well into the season, making it difficult to staff and market the business.

It is too early to tell how this year's tourist season will develop, Hoessel said.

The economic injury loan enabled Hoessle to save jobs. A lot of businesses were making layoffs in response to the loss of revenue, he said, but he wanted to avoid losing full-time employees.

"You try to hold on to your good employees," he said.

The Small Business Administration has awarded over $1 billion in Economic Injury Disaster Loans nationally in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. More than 10,000 business in the United States received loans, saving more than 166,000 jobs, according to a press release from the agency.