Industry group releases 2010 tourism statistics

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — New figures show that the 2010 visitor season was not a good one for Alaska's economy, as the Alaska Alliance for Cruise Travel released its preliminary findings on the tourism season Sunday.

The organization says employment data for 2010 shows Alaska lost nearly 2,000 visitor industry jobs, bringing the total job loss from the industry's 2008 peak to nearly 5,500.

Fewer cruise ship passengers and the loss of cruise ships sailing to the Alaska market were contributing factors.

An economic impact study conducted earlier in the year predicted that Alaska would lose jobs, but the organization says that the data shows things turned out to be worse than expected.