Post by blackcrowheart on Oct 14, 2005 9:10:58 GMT -5
Hualapai Tribe finds economy flows better with river plan than casino
Area may lure 300,000 visitors to Canyon rides
Mark Shaffer
Republic Flagstaff Bureau
Oct. 13, 2005 12:00 AM
GRAND CANYON WEST - It's not like the breathtaking view here of the
Colorado River snaking through the bottom of 4,000-foot-high brown
canyon walls has always attracted tourist green.
There was a failed plan 15 years ago to develop a huge resort complex
with telescopes viewing the pitch-black skies, billed as
a "scientific Disneyland." The Hualapai Tribe's casino at the airport
here also became the first in the state to close in the mid-1990s.
But today the tribe's Grand Canyon Resort Corp. has found its footing
and, fueled by a steady stream of flights from Las Vegas, is poised
to become the next big thing in tourism. advertisement
The area is on track to attract 300,000 visitors this year, most of
them lured by helicopter flights to the canyon bottom and short
speedboat trips up the slow-moving Colorado, said Robert Bravo,
manager of Grand Canyon West airport.
That's just the beginning, though, of an ambitious plan that Hualapai
officials say could one day attract as many as 2 million tourists
annually.
Grand Canyon West's $30 million skywalk, an 80-yard walk beyond the
canyon rim on a semicircular platform surrounded by Plexiglas that
will give a bird's eye view of the canyon floor directly below, is
expected to open by April.
Levi Esquerra, program director for Northern Arizona University's
Center for American Indian Economic Development, said the Hualapais
are one of the few tribes to have a bustling economy without casino
gaming as a linchpin.
"They've been able to exploit their natural beauty and become a
tourist destination," Esquerra said. "What we've normally seen in the
past between the tribes and national Park Service is like the
Blackfeet in Montana appealing to get free access to Glacier National
Park. But the Hualapais have a new and aggressive attitude to develop
markets on their own land."
The Hualapai's Grand Canyon Resort Corp. already has completed the
first phase of an adjoining Indian village, where Navajo, Hopi,
Hualapai and Havasupai craftsmen constructed traditional dwellings
surrounding an amphitheater that hosts daily Native American dances.
The first phase of a nearby Old West village also has been completed,
and plans are on the drawing board to construct a tram from the
canyon rim to the floor. Ditto for an anticipated high-end resort and
a campground, which will house about 50 cabins and be able to
accommodate 200 campsites and 200 recreation vehicles.
A Federal Aviation Administration grant also is expected soon. The
money would be used to increase the size of the airport terminal from
5,000 square feet to 26,000 square feet. The tribe has received $11
million in federal money to pave a road through a Joshua tree forest
to the west, which would greatly reduce the travel time from Las
Vegas.
Esquerra also said that the Hualapais have been forward thinking in
getting a federal charter for Grand Canyon Resort Corp., which means
that tribal government does not interfere with the enterprise.
"That's something unique for Arizona tribes and allows the business
to grow while separating tribal politics from business," Esquerra
said.
As a result, the Hualapais have been able to capitalize on a large
niche market of tourists. "We've calculated that we can have between
1.8 million and 2.5 million visitors a year on the skywalk if we
limit the time to 15 minutes for each one," said Steve Beattie, the
tribe's chief financial officer. "The sky is the limit on the tourism
potential in this area."
Area may lure 300,000 visitors to Canyon rides
Mark Shaffer
Republic Flagstaff Bureau
Oct. 13, 2005 12:00 AM
GRAND CANYON WEST - It's not like the breathtaking view here of the
Colorado River snaking through the bottom of 4,000-foot-high brown
canyon walls has always attracted tourist green.
There was a failed plan 15 years ago to develop a huge resort complex
with telescopes viewing the pitch-black skies, billed as
a "scientific Disneyland." The Hualapai Tribe's casino at the airport
here also became the first in the state to close in the mid-1990s.
But today the tribe's Grand Canyon Resort Corp. has found its footing
and, fueled by a steady stream of flights from Las Vegas, is poised
to become the next big thing in tourism. advertisement
The area is on track to attract 300,000 visitors this year, most of
them lured by helicopter flights to the canyon bottom and short
speedboat trips up the slow-moving Colorado, said Robert Bravo,
manager of Grand Canyon West airport.
That's just the beginning, though, of an ambitious plan that Hualapai
officials say could one day attract as many as 2 million tourists
annually.
Grand Canyon West's $30 million skywalk, an 80-yard walk beyond the
canyon rim on a semicircular platform surrounded by Plexiglas that
will give a bird's eye view of the canyon floor directly below, is
expected to open by April.
Levi Esquerra, program director for Northern Arizona University's
Center for American Indian Economic Development, said the Hualapais
are one of the few tribes to have a bustling economy without casino
gaming as a linchpin.
"They've been able to exploit their natural beauty and become a
tourist destination," Esquerra said. "What we've normally seen in the
past between the tribes and national Park Service is like the
Blackfeet in Montana appealing to get free access to Glacier National
Park. But the Hualapais have a new and aggressive attitude to develop
markets on their own land."
The Hualapai's Grand Canyon Resort Corp. already has completed the
first phase of an adjoining Indian village, where Navajo, Hopi,
Hualapai and Havasupai craftsmen constructed traditional dwellings
surrounding an amphitheater that hosts daily Native American dances.
The first phase of a nearby Old West village also has been completed,
and plans are on the drawing board to construct a tram from the
canyon rim to the floor. Ditto for an anticipated high-end resort and
a campground, which will house about 50 cabins and be able to
accommodate 200 campsites and 200 recreation vehicles.
A Federal Aviation Administration grant also is expected soon. The
money would be used to increase the size of the airport terminal from
5,000 square feet to 26,000 square feet. The tribe has received $11
million in federal money to pave a road through a Joshua tree forest
to the west, which would greatly reduce the travel time from Las
Vegas.
Esquerra also said that the Hualapais have been forward thinking in
getting a federal charter for Grand Canyon Resort Corp., which means
that tribal government does not interfere with the enterprise.
"That's something unique for Arizona tribes and allows the business
to grow while separating tribal politics from business," Esquerra
said.
As a result, the Hualapais have been able to capitalize on a large
niche market of tourists. "We've calculated that we can have between
1.8 million and 2.5 million visitors a year on the skywalk if we
limit the time to 15 minutes for each one," said Steve Beattie, the
tribe's chief financial officer. "The sky is the limit on the tourism
potential in this area."