When they say the high water in the Colorado River basin this year will exceed that of 1983, it makes river runners pay attention. Guides who experienced Colorado River rafting in the mid- 1980's know big water. A number of factors come into play every time high water rolls through the canyons of Utah and Arizona, and it appears the same factors are at play this year. By February there was speculation, but so much still had to play out just right. The wet spring, and lower temperatures have kept the snowpack in the mountains late into the spring. Now we wait and see how fast it will all come down.
The Grand Canyon, with flows regulated by Glen Canyon Dam, will likely not see the high flows like in '83 because the Dam folks know what not to this time. But Mother Nature will do what she wants upstream of that dam. Cataract Canyon is the place for high water Colorado River rafting.
There's no better way to experience the power and magnificence of an untamed river than from the relative safety and security of a large J-Rig, patented by Western River Expeditions and named after its founder Jack Curry. Designed specifically for high water, rafting guides agree there is not anything quite like a J-Rig to flex over and punch through strong rapids.
Showing posts with label rafting industry news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rafting industry news. Show all posts
31 May 2011
16 January 2009
2009 Travel Trends
What does 2009 hold for whitewater rafting and the adventure travel industry? It depends on what the adventure is. 2008 provided a roller-coaster ride for the entire nation as we saw outrageous gas prices, the real estate market crash and finally the entire collapse of the financial industry and economy in general.
The direct affect of the economy has not fully hit the rafting industry as of yet. 2009 will be a historic year, and nobody can predict what will happen this season. Since most of the economic collapse happened towards the end of the rafting season last year, most outfitters fared "OK". Everyone took hits with the gas crises, but avoided the major collapse of the market.
Although studies have shown that "vacations" are often one of the last items people cut in their personal budgets, it is beginning to be evident that vacations are not immune to the market downturn.
Advanced bookings are slightly down across the board, and cancellations are statistically higher than usual, as those who booked far in advance are realizing the "extra" vacation cash needs to pay off bills.
That being said, summer vacations and adventure travel will still be a hot ticket on people's itinerary for 2009. One positive that local outfitters may see is that residents will cut back on traveling to distant locations, and try to find fund and relaxation closer to home. Local marketing and local advertising will be important factors for staying above water (no pun intended).
I predict that whitewater rafting will stay strong for those who realize that you will have to spend money to make money. In an economy where businesses are cutting costs, many have the opportunity to rise above the competition as many scale down marketing efforts.
As far as water levels, rivers and geographic issues, it looks like there is still plenty of snowpack and storms to come that should not be an issue for most parts of the nation.
As usual, we will see how things play out...
The direct affect of the economy has not fully hit the rafting industry as of yet. 2009 will be a historic year, and nobody can predict what will happen this season. Since most of the economic collapse happened towards the end of the rafting season last year, most outfitters fared "OK". Everyone took hits with the gas crises, but avoided the major collapse of the market.
Although studies have shown that "vacations" are often one of the last items people cut in their personal budgets, it is beginning to be evident that vacations are not immune to the market downturn.
Advanced bookings are slightly down across the board, and cancellations are statistically higher than usual, as those who booked far in advance are realizing the "extra" vacation cash needs to pay off bills.
That being said, summer vacations and adventure travel will still be a hot ticket on people's itinerary for 2009. One positive that local outfitters may see is that residents will cut back on traveling to distant locations, and try to find fund and relaxation closer to home. Local marketing and local advertising will be important factors for staying above water (no pun intended).
I predict that whitewater rafting will stay strong for those who realize that you will have to spend money to make money. In an economy where businesses are cutting costs, many have the opportunity to rise above the competition as many scale down marketing efforts.
As far as water levels, rivers and geographic issues, it looks like there is still plenty of snowpack and storms to come that should not be an issue for most parts of the nation.
As usual, we will see how things play out...
25 April 2008
Rafting Outfitters Merger in the East
Most of the rafting industry has heard about the mergers happening in West Virginia as of late. Two notable mergers have come about recently, due to business development and competitive strategy. Here are the two big changes:
1. Class VI, Adventures Mountain River, Riverman- This merger was quite interesting die to the fact that all three companies were/are good companies with steady business (comparatively). Numbers all across the board have been slumping, but each of these companies still kept their heads above water. So I would assume that this merger was in fact a business/competitive play in effort to try and take the lead for the rafting business in the area (notably from their direct competitor ACE Adventure Center).
The new company, Class Vi Mountain River, will now work to use the expertise and market niche of each individual company as a collective good to dominate the West Virginia rafting market. The three companies originally targeted different market segments to begin with, so the crossover in marketing would be fairly minimal and it seems like a good move for these three to get together.
2. ACE Adventure Resort, Wildwater Expeditions, Songer Whitewater and New River Gorge Adventures- Kind of a merger power move by the current West Virginia rafting market-share leader, ACE scooped up the partnership with a few other companies. Songer whitewater was well established and was decent sized. The other two companies were smaller and would make sense to move together with a larger organization to stay competative.
It will be interesting to see how these mergers play out. Often times you would think that there are too many outfitters in any given region/river, and West Virginia was one of those places. Nowhere near as crazy as Colorado on the Arkansas, but still too many from a consumer standpoint.
I think many areas and outfitters could possibly benefit from merging with strategic partners in their same region, if the numbers make sense. Most rivers will have multiple rafting outfitters, and only certain places restrict the number of outfitters that can operate on that portion of the river (Grand Canyon rafting trips are limited in space and with the number of outfitters that can operate)
1. Class VI, Adventures Mountain River, Riverman- This merger was quite interesting die to the fact that all three companies were/are good companies with steady business (comparatively). Numbers all across the board have been slumping, but each of these companies still kept their heads above water. So I would assume that this merger was in fact a business/competitive play in effort to try and take the lead for the rafting business in the area (notably from their direct competitor ACE Adventure Center).
The new company, Class Vi Mountain River, will now work to use the expertise and market niche of each individual company as a collective good to dominate the West Virginia rafting market. The three companies originally targeted different market segments to begin with, so the crossover in marketing would be fairly minimal and it seems like a good move for these three to get together.
2. ACE Adventure Resort, Wildwater Expeditions, Songer Whitewater and New River Gorge Adventures- Kind of a merger power move by the current West Virginia rafting market-share leader, ACE scooped up the partnership with a few other companies. Songer whitewater was well established and was decent sized. The other two companies were smaller and would make sense to move together with a larger organization to stay competative.
It will be interesting to see how these mergers play out. Often times you would think that there are too many outfitters in any given region/river, and West Virginia was one of those places. Nowhere near as crazy as Colorado on the Arkansas, but still too many from a consumer standpoint.
I think many areas and outfitters could possibly benefit from merging with strategic partners in their same region, if the numbers make sense. Most rivers will have multiple rafting outfitters, and only certain places restrict the number of outfitters that can operate on that portion of the river (Grand Canyon rafting trips are limited in space and with the number of outfitters that can operate)
01 February 2008
Some 2007 Rafting Success
Depending on which region of the country you look at, 2007 gave mixed results as far as the rafting industry as a whole. However, Maine claims a great year for all the whitewater rafting outfitters in the region.
According to Raft Maine association and a press release put out a few months ago, an increase of 4% on the Kennebec, 10% on the Penobscot and 16% on trips on the Dead River were reported by operating outfitters. "Raft Maine president Jim Murton credits the good season to a renewed commitment by Raft Maine member outfitters to joint marketing and co-operative efforts with the Maine Office of Tourism, Kennebec Valley Tourism Council, Maine Tourism Association and Maine's hospitality businesses and trade associations."
Good for them. The office of tourism and other government related organizations can provide a great boost for rafting outfitters across the country. From the sounds of things, it was a joint effort by all the businesses involved- from hotels to restaraunts. Good job of everyone working together to promote local tourism.
According to Raft Maine association and a press release put out a few months ago, an increase of 4% on the Kennebec, 10% on the Penobscot and 16% on trips on the Dead River were reported by operating outfitters. "Raft Maine president Jim Murton credits the good season to a renewed commitment by Raft Maine member outfitters to joint marketing and co-operative efforts with the Maine Office of Tourism, Kennebec Valley Tourism Council, Maine Tourism Association and Maine's hospitality businesses and trade associations."
Good for them. The office of tourism and other government related organizations can provide a great boost for rafting outfitters across the country. From the sounds of things, it was a joint effort by all the businesses involved- from hotels to restaraunts. Good job of everyone working together to promote local tourism.
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