Outdoor Sports moving Indoors?

Along the same note of my last whitewater rafting park in KY post, I ran across another article recently, supporting the concept that many of the adventure sports will find counterparts in an indoor/manmade arena.

Jeff Coy on Hospitality.net brought in some interesting point regarding the growing trend of man-made adventure sports. Rafting parks, surf pools and hotel water parks are all the examples he brought to the table. I agree with the emerging trend, and to a degree I personally would like to try the surf pools and surfing wave walls.

However, Coy also says that "sporting enthusiasts say it is hard to get away from work at the right time. It is difficult and expensive to travel to the coast when the perfect ocean wave is breaking or reach the backwoods when the whitewater river is cresting..."

I see these indoor arenas and play areas as a complimentary service within the same industry, and not really a competative force with the true outdoor sport. You will never be able to compare a man-made rafting course with a Grand Canyon rafting trip, or the rush of huge whitewater on the Gauley River. And I don't think any of these "enthusiasts" are looking to replace the real experience with these indoor ones.

The trend of shorter vacations is real. So people looking for a real outdoor rafting trip will look for a 2 or 3 day trip, not a 6 or 7 day trip. The same hold true for skiing. An indoor ski slope acts as a great bunny hill. Man-made ski material in Europe allows skiier to practice even during the summer. But don't think for a second that they will fore-go the mountain slope for a dinky indoor arena.

So it becomes more a matter of vacation time, and less about indoor versus outdoor. Outdoor adventure providers should shift some of their inventory to reflect that of the short-vacation trends, but also support the introduction of the indoor arena, as that may be exactly what the outdoor industry needs; a good introduction to the real deal.

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.