Augusta Trying for Rafting Park

Augusta, GA wants to push for their own whitewater rafting park as rafting travel picks up popularity across the U.S. Augusta city is joining the hoards of towns and cities we've already mentioned with plans to utilize canals, river and streams to turn around whitewater rafting parks.

The USNWC (US National Whitewater Center) seems to be holding ground currently, but is is a large center aimed at not only the local market, but professional paddlers and competitions. The verdict is yet to be determined as all the other areas across the nation try to tap into the popular sport. More updates as they open, and we will see where whitewater parks stand in a few years.

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.

KY Whitewater Park In the Works

WKYT 27 reported recently that officials are considering a whitewater park at the Kentucky-Virginia lines in hopes to boost tourism in the state. Right now, Kentucky is basically void of any decent "river rafting" option (as is the case with most of the Midwest), so this may provide an opportunity for not only the Kentucky residents, but neighboring states as well.

I assume that would be the main focus when officials say "tourism", because I doubt visitors would make a special trip to Kentucky just for a whitewater rafting park. Plus, you have the US national whitewater center down in NC, and a few others across the East.

I would venture to say the most business would still be the local market (at least for the near future). When I was talking to one of the Marketing Directors at the USNWC a couple years ago when they first opened, he told us that their visitors and target market were Charlotte and Atlanta, both legitimate population centers nearest the center.

So a tourism boost? Possible, but the more realistic expectation would be to give the locals of KY and VA something to do.

Waveyard- Water Sports Dream in Phoenix

Waveyard, the up-coming water sports resort and villa has its new website up- www.waveyard.com. The new park will have white water rafting, kayaking, surfing, scuba diving, beaches, shopping, retail stores, villas and more. Probably the largest and most unique of its kind, this boasts to be quite the resort/waterpark destination.

It will be interesting to see how the profitability pans out. Some of the other whitewater parks (focusing strictly on whitewater rafting/kayaking) are getting mixed results. This takes the concept to a whole new level. Location seems to be good. Product is right and price is yet to be determined (I would imagine from the look and feel that it would be expensive). The marketing and promotion will play a major role.

Other whitewater parks seem to focus on local markets for the day-to-day business. Not quite as wide a scope as normal whitewater rafting outfitters. The water sports resort would (I assume) try to pull from a much larger audience. The whitewater rafting and kayaking portion of the park would probably be less of an attraction with all the other activities. But fun nonetheless.

Wisconsim Wants a Whitewater Rafting Park

Wisconsin has now apparently jumped on the "I want a whitewater toy" now as well. The recent addittions and news about teh upcoming whitewater rafting parks has sruck interest in many different parts of the nation.

Matt Johnson of Appleton, WI is part of the Fox Cities Whitewater Park Committee, which has retained the engineering firm of Recreation Engineering and Planning Inc. of Boulder, Colo., to perform a feasibility study on constructing a whitewater park somewhere in the Fox Cities.

We will see how these whitewater parks continue to grow in popularity. Can they make enough money to keep running is the question.

Another White Water Rafting Park!?!

Yet another white water rafting park is in the process of moving forward in the U.S. I mentioned that me and some other white water rafting outfitters visited the North Carolina park in our last visit to the East coast. Now plans are in the build "Run of River" in the Kennebec River gorge, just behind downtown.

The interesting part is that the project is set to be on a large peice of riverbank property. The property location "is crucial to the project," says Greg Dore, the promoter.

I will keep everyone updated on the progress of these new white water parks as they continue to grow. I now have heard of three parks in the works to get approval and funding. We shall see what the outcome holds.