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SEWARD, Alaska - Bixler McClure's whale-watching tours in this popular port south of Anchorage are nearly sold out for June and July. He's had so many emails and phone calls begging him for a spot that he recently hired another captain and ordered a third boat. This big expansion of his small business, Seward Ocean Excursions, would have been unthinkable this time last year, when tourism evaporated and he nearly sold a boat to keep the business afloat.
"The word on the street in Seward from hotels and Airbnbs is it's going to be a wild summer," McClure said. "Airbnb nightly rentals are literally full for all of July. This has never happened this early."