A Skagway assembly member has been hired as the new tourism director in Haines.

Reba Hylton will spend the month of March transitioning between the towns. 

 The Haines borough assembly on Tuesday confirmed the hiring. The position had been open since November when the previous director resigned. Reba Hylton will start her new job in April.

Hylton: “It’s my dream job. I feel fortunate that I’ve always worked in this tourism field because when you have that genuine passion for what you are doing, it doesn’t feel like work and I love that this is the path of my life, and I had that from day one in Alaska.”

Hylton lived in Haines for 10 years before moving to Skagway, and she has many years of experience in the tourism industry.

Hylton: “I started working tourism the first year I came up here in 1996. I started off in the office and then I moved to guiding, and then I moved over in Skagway in the summers only and I started managing the hike and float for Chilkat Guides. And then I moved over to Whitepass [and Yukon Route], that’s the largest tour company in Alaska, and I grew into a sales position there, and also had a little hand in marketing. And then I started working for Skagway Brewing as their marketing and tour director and event planner.”

Haines Borough Manager Annette Kreitzer was in charge of the hiring process. She teamed up with the borough clerk and a previous tourism director to assess the applications they received. Kreitzer says two applicants stood out, and after interviews the team agreed on Hylton.

Kreitzer: “She had lived in Haines before so she had some experience and knowledge about the community of Haines, the different viewpoints that people have about tourism in Haines, there are folks who are proponents of cruise ship traffic, there are folks who prefer to focus more on independent traffic, and yet you have to  find a stream of tourism that will provide consistency for folks who are in that business.”

In her role as tourism director, Hylton will help  local tourism businesses predict how many people will be in town at different times, and direct the flow of visitors to stores or tour operators. Kreitzer says Hylton knows the business.

Kreitzer: “I think that talking with Rebecca she has a really good understanding of all of those issues, she has good marketing experience, which is another thing that we really look for in this position. So I felt she had the deeper experience in terms of her exposure to all of the tourism industry from cruise ship to independent travelers.” 

Hylton has been serving on the Skagway borough assembly since 2020. She says with her move and a job that will require her full attention, she will not be able to finish her term. She has not officially announced her resignation yet.

Hylton: “I do want to stay on the assembly through March 19th when the municipality takes back the operational porting of running our ports, I think that’s a monumental historic moment and I’m going to see it through.”

According to the Skagway borough code, the assembly has 30 days to appoint a new member once Hylton resigns from her seat. 

Hylton has started the moving process. She has found an apartment to rent in Haines and says she will be looking for a house to buy. She is bringing her son with her who is in fourth grade. Hylton says they are both looking forward to enjoying the Haines swimming pool, and much more.

Hylton: “Fishing out at Chilkoot lake and paddle boarding out there, walking the beach out by Pyramid island, I lived over in Haines for ten years and I miss those things dearly.”

Hylton says she won’t reinvent the wheel. When she starts work she will prioritize learning what previous tourism directors have done.

Hylton: “What’s been done so far, what collateral there is, what materials there are, what trade shows they’ve been going to. To just get the foundation underneath me and from there branch out and look for goals after I’m settled. I have a lot of respect for the previous tourism directors and their roles, so I’m not looking to go in there and change anything by any means. I’m just trying to make Haines the best possible thing that it can be, so I hope people approach me and aren’t afraid to do that because I want to hear what they have to say.”  

Hylton’s first day in her new job is April 1st.