Tourism generates thousands of Anchorage jobs, brings $297 million in annual direct spending, more than $50 million every year in local tax collections, and improves quality of life for residents and visitors alike. The money invested into our local economy by visitors circulates throughout our economy several times over, providing an ongoing economic impact that would disappear entirely without tourism. Tourism also jumpstarts a “virtuous cycle.” Creating a place people want to visit creates one that people enjoy living in, and – by extension – one that businesses want to establish a presence in.