Juneau is one of the 20 most travel-worthy state capitals, according to an ongoing online voting contest by USA Today.
As of Friday, the city was in second place behind Carson City, Nev. The contest started Dec. 9 and ends Jan. 5 at 8 a.m. Alaska time.
Nancy Woizeschke is the president and CEO of the Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau. She says that Juneau has consistently been in the top 3 since the poll opened.
“We think that anything that puts us at the top of any such list like this is gonna be beneficial to us,” Woizeschke says.
Woizeschke says it’s difficult to measure how publicity impacts tourism in Juneau. She says the results of this contest may end up on JCVB tourism materials.
USA Today asked travel writers David Scott, Kay Scott and Larry Bleiberg to pick the initial list of travel-worthy capitals.
The Scotts have visited Juneau twice and say a number of things make it a special place.
“There aren’t too many capitals that have glaciers right outside of town,” Kay Scott says.
The Scotts are surprised that Carson City, as a small city, was leading the poll but speculate that capitals getting the most votes are supported by dedicated locals. Woizeschke says the employees at JCVB are diligently voting every day and encourage Juneau residents to do the same.
This isn’t the first time Juneau has been recognized as a travel destination. Last year, Eaglecrest was runner up in Powder Magazine’s Ski Town Throwdown and the TODAY Show came out to the Mendenhall Glacier this summer.
You can vote here.