A topic that seemed to crop up in nearly every conversation at the recent Alaska Media Road Show in Las Vegas was the impact women are making in travel in the 49th state. They’re opening businesses in downtown Ketchikan. They’re responsible for the reboot in Nome’s tourism efforts. They’re operating tours for women by women.
And according to Jillian Simpson, CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA), while women have traditionally lagged men in visiting Alaska, she is seeing an increase in female-focused travel options.
Simpson said that about 44% of visitors to Alaska from May 2022 to April 2023 were women, citing a Destination Analysts report.
“With female solo travel being such a large trend, we expect that number to increase,” Simpson said. “We’re definitely seeing more and more women-only retreats being offered, whether it’s for fishing, yoga, dog mushing, etc.”
Among them is a tour offered by Paige Drobny, a nine-time Iditarod competitor who placed fifth in this year’s race. She was among four women who placed in the top 10 in 2024 — a first for the competition.
In 2022, she and husband Cody Strathe opened Susitna Adventure Lodge, about 78 miles outside Denali National Park. Drobny offers small-group, women-only tours along with fellow musher Ryne Olson, which include backpacking with reindeer in the summer and mushing with Alaskan huskies — many of them Iditarod veterans — in the winter.
The increase in travel businesses owned and operated by women is even more impressive given that in Alaska, which has the highest male-to-female ratio nationally, only 37% of businesses overall were owned by women in 2021, according to a study from the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Center for Economic Development.
A womens-only dog-mushing tour near Cantwell, Alaska. led by Iditarod competitors Paige Drobny and Ryne Olson. Photo Credit: Rose Hewitt
Ketchikan has nine women-owned or co-owned tour operators, including the Native-owned Alaska Native Tours. The Red Lantern, an adult boutique and burlesque show that opened in February, pays homage to the pioneering female brothel owners of Alaska. The Captain’s Lady Boutique & Gifts, owned by Jaimie Palmer, highlights goods from local artists with plans to develop a candle-making experience for visitors.
Looking for a local brew? Stasha McCormick operates Ketchikan Pub Crawl with her husband, Cullen.
There are also Alaska tours and activities that celebrate women.
One of the most popular cruise excursions, the White Pass & Yukon Route in Skagway, honored its first all-female train crew in its 126-year history on Oct. 15. The crew included Lindsay Breen, the railway’s first female engineer, conductor Eliza Myers and brakeman Eileen O’Keefe.
“There have been many iconic women who have led the way in the Alaska tourism industry, like Mary Joyce, who operated the Taku Glacier Lodge back in the 1930s; or Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod, in 1985, who then went onto have a successful tourism career,” Simpson said. “Today, there are even more women-led tourism businesses thriving across the state.”
