By Carly Horton
Alaska Journal of Commerce

The 2007 fall convention season for Alaska's three largest cities - Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau - is off to a rousing start.

From the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Fairbanks to the Alaska Travel Industry Association convention in Juneau, conference attendees are expected to turn out in record numbers this year.

Here's a sampling:

Anchorage

“We have a full convention calendar this year,” said Nance Larsen, vice president of communications and marketing programs for the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Anchorage will host its largest ever familiarization tour this fall, with more than 50 attendees. Meeting planners will tour the William A. Egan Civic and Convention Center, the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, local hotels and other venues for meetings and functions.

“We hold three tours per year, and this is the largest one we've ever done,” Larsen said. “It's a very extensive undertaking.”

The Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center, with its 26,000-square-foot ballroom and 11,300-square-foot exhibit hall, is expected to bring large international conferences to Anchorage when it opens next year.

Conventions include the Society for Imaging and Science and Technology, which is expected to have 850 delegates, and Bouchercon 2007, a convention of mystery writers that will have 1,600 delegates.

The estimated economic impact of Anchorage conferences is expected to be $20.9 million.

Juneau

According to Lorene Palmer, president and CEO of the Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau, the estimated economic impact of delegate spending for the fall 2007 convention season is $855,000.

There are six conferences scheduled between Sept. 1 and the end of December.

The largest convention is the Alaska Travel Industry Association annual convention, with about 600 attendees.

Fairbanks

Deb Hickok, president and CEO of the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau, has a good, solid fall schedule lined up.

The Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention will be held in Fairbanks this year, and could have as many as 4,000 attendees. The conference is being scheduled for Oct. 22-27.

The AFN Elders and Youth Conference will have about 900 delegates from around the state. The goal is to strengthen youth leadership with the experience and wisdom of Native elders.

The AFN Convention is the largest annual meeting in Alaska and the largest representative gathering in the U.S. of any Native peoples. AFN membership is made up of more than 200 villages, 12 regional Native corporations and 12 regional nonprofit and tribal consortiums. The mission is to enhance and promote the cultural, economic and political voice for the Alaska Native community. An arts and crafts fair, three nights of dancing, drumming, singing and celebration, and the Alaska marketplace are part of this event.

The AFN convention alone is expected to generate $4.5 million.

The total dollar amount for the fall 2007 Fairbanks convention season is about $5.88 million.

Carly Horton can be reached at carly.horton@alaskajournal.com.