Kingman Area and Grand Canyon West/Hualapai Tourism Study, 2010 Produced for the by the Arizona Hospitality Research & Resource Center Center for Business Outreach The W. A. Franke College of Business Northern Arizona University April 2011 Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank all the people who helped to make this study possible. First, thanks go to Melissa Elkins, Research Manager at the Arizona Office of Tourism, for recognizing the critical role that these local visitor studies play in understanding tourism in rural Arizona communities. Without this market research, Arizona cities and towns outside the Phoenix area would have little or no data on which to base their marketing placement decisions. Next, we want to recognize the tourism “champions” in Kingman and at Grand Canyon West Skywalk and Hualapai Tribe who worked diligently throughout the year to collect a laudable number of completed surveys. In particular, we want to thank two key individuals who managed the project in their areas: Joshua Noble, Director of Tourism at the Kingman Tourism and Visitor’s Bureau, and Nancy Echeverria, General Manager of the Hualapai Tourism Reservation Center and Property Manager of Hualapai Lodge. Their enthusiastic leadership inspired those at the survey collection sites – 19 survey sites in all. The dedicated staff at these sites interacted directly with visitors to insure that survey forms were completed according to the survey schedule. We especially want to recognize the participation of Grand Canyon West and the Hualapai Tribe in this project, participation that is critical to understanding the changing visitation patterns in the region since the opening of the Grand Canyon West Skywalk attraction. We extend our thanks to Waylon Honga of the Grand Canyon Resort Corporation for his participation in the project. Finally, special thanks to all the visitors to this northwestern corner of Arizona who agreed to complete visitor surveys as part of their trips to the region. Without their help this report would not have been possible. The AHRRC team: Cheryl Cothran, AHRRC Director Thomas Combrink, Senior Research Specialist Melinda Bradford, Research Technician Kingman Area and Grand Canyon West/Hualapai Tourism Study-2010 Page 2 Executive Summary This survey of visitors to the Kingman and Grand Canyon West areas of northwestern Arizona was undertaken to gather more reliable regional data than is available from statewide or national panel surveys, which contain too few cases to reliably represent area visitation. This survey process collected a total of 2,520 surveys from the Kingman and Grand Canyon West/Hualapai areas over a 12-month period from February 2010 through January 2011 – a remarkably large sample size that is more than sufficient to produce high confidence in these results. This information will assist the Kingman and Grand Canyon West tourism communities with targeted marketing efforts, product development, and advocacy for an industry that is critical to the health of the regional economy. The general profile of visitors to the Kingman and Grand Canyon West area is one of Baby-Boomer adults in family groups, who are either passing through the area on their way to destinations such as Grand Canyon National Park, or are specifically traveling from Las Vegas, Nevada to visit the Grand Canyon West/Hualapai Skywalk, drive scenic Route 66 or visit other area attractions. Visitors to the region are largely from California and Arizona, though a large percentage of Grand Canyon West visitors are internationals. Located in a region of great scenic beauty and monumental attractions, these visitors see the national parks, visit cultural and historic sites and museums, and enjoy the many recreational opportunities the area provides. A summary of the specific findings of the Kingman and Grand Canyon West/Hualapai visitor survey follows: • Data for this tourism survey were collected at 18 separate locations in Kingman area communities and at the Grand Canyon West attractions of the Hualapai Tribe. • An amazing total of 2,520 surveys were collected during the year – 1,784 in the Kingman area and 736 at Grand Canyon West/Hualapai. • While the Kingman area had slightly more male (52.5%) than female (47.5%) visitors, the reverse was true at Hualapai which had more female (56.2%) than male (43.8%) visitors. • The average age of visitors to the Kingman area was 52.4 years (median age 54), while the average age of Hualapai visitors was considerably younger at 45.9 years (median 48 years). Baby-boomers, ages 46-65, accounted for 54.3% of Kingman visitors and 41.8% of Grand Canyon West visitors. • The average party size at Kingman area sites was 3.2 persons (1.6 women, 1.6 men), while at Grand Canyon West/Hualapai sites average parties were larger at 4.2 persons (2.0 women, 2.0 men). Few parties to either area traveled with children under 18 years – 15.7% in Kingman and 10.1% at Grand Canyon West. For parties with children, the average was one child. • The majority of visitors to both Kingman (57.8%) and the Hualapai tribal sites (44.9%) traveled in family only groups. In Kingman, another 14.2% traveled in groups of family and friends, or friends-only parties (12.9%); at Grand Canyon West, another 23.4% were with friends only, followed family and friends (22.4%). Those traveling alone accounted for 11.0% at Kingman, but very few (2.4%) at Grand Canyon West. Kingman Area and Grand Canyon West/Hualapai Tourism Study-2010 Page 3 • Travelers to the Kingman area had average annual household incomes of $73,267, while the Grand Canyon West average was $74,404 – both very comparable to that for Arizona visitors overall of $76,000. • Most common information sources for Kingman area visitors were previous visits to the area (34.0%) or other sources (32.0%), largely maps, directories and travel guides; for Grand Canyon West, the Internet/online was the most common source (44.9%), followed by word-of-mouth (30.4%). Very few used social networking sites as a source of information. • Only one in five (20.2%) visitors to Kingman said it was their primary destination, while 79.8% said it was not the primary destination; for the latter, the most notable primary destinations were California (46.4%) or elsewhere in Arizona (29.5%). • Grand Canyon West/Hualapai on the other hand was the reverse; for almost two-thirds of visitors (61.6%) GCW was a primary destination, while for 38.4% it was not. • The primary purpose of visits to the area was leisure vacations – 44.5% for Kingman and 65.9% for Grand Canyon West visitors. In addition, Kingman had many pass-through visitors (34.9%), while Grand Canyon West had many day visitors (25.4%). • A majority of visitors to the Kingman area (69.3%) and GCW (50.3%) traveled in an automobile (either a private or rental car); in addition, 18.6% of Kingman visitors traveled in an RV/Camper, while a third of GCW visitors traveled by tour buses out of Las Vegas (31.2%). • Another notable difference was that two-thirds of Kingman visitors (64.6%) stayed overnight, while only one-third of GCW visitors (35.2%) stayed overnight in the area. • The average length of hotel stays in Kingman was 2.8 nights and at GCW was 2.9 nights. • Day visitors spent an average of 3.5 hours in the Kingman area and 5.5 hours at GC/Hualapai, while overnight visitors spent an average of 3.1 nights in Kingman and 3.2 nights at GCW. • Visitors who did stay overnight in the area used a variety of accommodations: in Kingman, 66.2% stayed in a hotel or motel and 22.7% in an RV Park; at Grand Canyon West, almost everyone who spent the night stayed in a hotel/motel (83.1%). • One-third of Kingman visitors stayed in the Kingman area either the night before or after they completed the survey; conversely, two-thirds of Grand Canyon West visitors stayed in Las Vegas both the night before and the night after completing the survey – a pattern that reduces the economic impact of these visits for Arizona. • In terms of domestic visitor origins, the top origin states for the region are California and Arizona. In all, visitors from 48 U.S. states and Puerto Rico were captured in the sample. • Only 14% of visitors in the overall sample was from Arizona, and about a third of these were from the Greater Phoenix area. In all, 59 Arizona cities and towns appeared in the sample. • Impressive numbers of foreign visitors appeared in the sample – 41.3% at Grand Canyon West and 27.7% in the Kingman area. Canada contributed the most foreign visitors, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia, among others. In all, an amazing 55 countries were represented in the survey sample. Kingman Area and Grand Canyon West/Hualapai Tourism Study-2010 Page 4 • Visitors had considerable expenditures in the region on lodging, restaurant and grocery, transportation, shopping, recreation-entrance fees, and other spending. Grand Canyon West visitors had higher average per-party per-day spending in every category. Lodging at GCW averaged $207/night vs. $189/night in Kingman; however 65% of Kingman visitors had lodging expenditures in the area versus 35% of GCW visitors. • In general, visitors to the region are interested in visiting national and state parks, taking scenic drives on Route 66, seeing cultural and historic sites, and hiking/walking trails. Visitors to Grand Canyon West had a much higher incidence of shopping for arts and crafts or taking raft trips on the Colorado River. • The most-visited area attractions for Kingman area visitors were Las Vegas, Grand Canyon National Park and Hoover Dam.