Ask Skift: Celebrity Travel Influencers

On September 1, Carol and Tom Cutkomp stepped aboard Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas ship in Seward, Alaska, and began unpacking their belongings, eager to kick off their vacation after three long days of travel.

Although business travel has made significant progress in its recovery in recent months, it’s uncertain if and when it will fully rebound from the pandemic.

Royal Caribbean canceled two back-to-back cruises with less than a week's notice — leaving many travelers scrambling to make alternative travel arrangements.

An American travel influencer who told her viewers to book a vacation to Asia was met with backlash as TikTokers pointed out it wasn't easily affordable for people who weren't wealthy, but the influencer hit back and said she wasn't born into privilege.

Traditionally, Alaska cruises have been seven days in length—either a weeklong loop of the Inside Passage roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver, or a similar transit across the Gulf of Alaska sailing one way between Vancouver and Seward or Whittier.

Skift has looked into the hurdles that several major U.S. cities face in trying to boost tourism — San Francisco and Portland are just two examples.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kelese Richardson, the local vice president for Alaska AFA LAX and an Alaska Airlines flight attendant. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2021, the Pretty Rocks Landslide on Denali Park Road in Alaska shut off the only driving route to the old mining town of Kantisha. The closure is predicted to continue until 2026, cutting off access on the iconic 92-mile road in Denali National Park. This means that Kantishna, previously a popular destination for day visitors to the park, is now only accessible by air. It takes a helicopter over the glaciers, braided rivers, and multi-colored mountain peaks with America’s tallest mountain, Denali, in the background. In short, it’s become an exclusive destination that only a small percentage of visitors have a chance to access.

For my first trip to Alaska this summer, I decided to forego the typical cruise and instead stayed at Tordrillo Mountain Lodge. The all-inclusive wilderness resort is located 60 miles northwest of Anchorage and accessible only by ski plane. 

Rankings are uniquely based upon a survey of consumer experiences that provide insights into the innovations that matter most.

In addition to booming tourism numbers worldwide, travelers this summer have experienced scorching temperatures. That blistering heat has made travel difficult and could potentially create chronic health problems.

Executives from the venture capital arms of three large travel companies — JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, and Amadeus — each shared details with Skift about what they are focused on in 2023 and going forward.