Alaska Tourism Site Rebounds from Palin Candidacy

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s selection as Sen. John McCain’s vice presidential running mate has created an increased interest in travel to Alaska, with a six-fold increase in visits to the state’s tourism Web page recorded since the Aug. 29 announcement of her candidacy.

The Alaska Travel Industry Association said the number of click-on to the governor’s page on its Web site, http://www.travelalaska.com/, are up more than 600 percent since Mrs. Palin was added to the Republican ticket.

The ATIA recently began mailing out the first batch of 2.6 million travel brochures featuring a letter from Mrs. Palin.

The ATIA noted that although the mailing and the vice presidential announcement came at about the same time, Alaska has used its governors in its marketing materials for more than a decade.