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Web posted Monday, February 3, 2003 Post-9/11 SBA loans top $2.1 million to Alaska companies By Christina Sessions Alaska Journal of Commerce   Troy Nave, a guide for Alaska Wildland Adventures Inc., takes a small group on a float trip on the upper Kenai River. The company is one of 22 that received economic injury loans from the Small Business Administration after 9/11. PHOTO/Courtesy Alaska Wildland Adventures Inc. "We found, consistent with worldwide reports, that people just weren't traveling," said Kirk Hoessle, president of Alaska Wildland Adventures Inc., which was awarded a $142,500 loan by the SBA program. 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. In Alaska, 22 business have received more than $2.1 million in disaster relief loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration for economic injury suffered as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Listed below are the companies which received loans and the approved amount of the loan. Mezirow $5,000 Legends Lodge Inc. $91,400 The amount of relief awarded in Alaska through the U.S. Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loans recently topped $2.1 million. The loans are offered to small businesses that suffered economic injury as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and cover ordinary operating costs and expenses. According to Ron Veltkamp, spokesperson for the Small Business Administration in Alaska, 58 businesses submitted applications to the organization, 22 of which were approved. Many of the firms awarded loans were in the tourism industry, which suffered a significant loss of business after Sept. 11. Fear of flying and the economic downturn of the stock market after the attacks kept many Americans closer to home. Chena Hot Springs Resort LLC $220,800 Thomas $36,400 Henrikson $21,100 Needham $20,000 Alaska Wildland Adventures Inc. $142,500 Renown Charters & Tours LLC $294,400 Chandler Corporation $351,000 Pacific Star Seafoods Inc. $320,800 Arctic Sparrow Aircraft, Inc. $5,000 LeTarte $20,000 Lee $42,500 Frontier Flying Service $50,000 Midnight Sun Ventures Corp. $50,000 Orca Cannery Inc. $48,600 Professional Colorgraphics Printing $69,500 Yerkes $38,200 Northern Lights Travel $26,100 Valutravel Inc. $82,200 Portage Transport Inc. $40,400 Alaska Destination Specialists $132,000 Source: U.S. Small Business Administration Hoessle said the company suffered several cancellations because people had opted to take advantage of the lower cruise prices. "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.