FAIRBANKS — An expanded charter flight schedule could deliver as many as 1,300 additional Japanese visitors to Fairbanks this winter, adding to a tourism segment that has become one of the Interior’s most reliable.
Japan Airlines will offer 18 flights to Fairbanks this winter, originating from cities such as Osaka, Tokyo, Nagoya, Hiroshima and Fukuoka. It’s a 50 percent increase from last winter and the most local flights the carrier has offered in three years.
Deb Hickok, the president of the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Japanese visitors are among the most visible winter tourists in the area. Seeing the aurora is a dream for many Japanese, she said, and some save for a lifetime to take a visit to witness it.
She said FCVB staff traveled twice this summer to attend trade shows in Japan and lobby for additional visitors.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, but we’re thrilled,” she said.
Japanese visitors are common enough that many visitor destinations, such as Chena Hot Springs Resort, have signs in both English and Japanese. The segment also boosts niche tourism businesses that offer dog mushing demonstrations or aurora viewing.
Kory Eberhardt, who owns Taste of Alaska Lodge, said the additional flights have added enough business that he’s planning to hire additional staff for the first time in several years.
“It’s filling out my winter quite well,” he said.
Aurora Borealis Lodge gets about 70 percent of its winter business from Japanese tourists looking for a glimpse of the aurora atop Cleary Summit, co-owner Mok Kumagai said.
“That’s definitely the main reason the guests come up,” he said. “Everything else is just a bonus.”
He said this winter’s JAL schedule is more favorable than in previous years, Kumagai said, since the charters are spread over a three-month span from December to March. He said last year the Japanese tourists came in a quick three-week burst, which made it tough for small businesses to take full advantage of the flood of visitors.
The expanded schedule is also a good sign for JAL, which filed for bankruptcy in early 2010. Those financial problems contributed to a drop in Fairbanks-bound passengers from its peak in 2008.
As part of its restructuring plan the carrier also replaced its fleet of massive Boeing 747s with smaller Boeing 767 jets.
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