When all added up— the construc- tion cost of the zip line tour and other infrastructure such as outbuildings, and the purchase of a fleet of side-by-side UTVs to shuttle people up and down the access road as well as a fleet of vans to get people from nearby lodging to the site—the total investment was less than $1 million. The bottom-line cost was minimized by keeping the job of building the supporting infrastructure in-house as much as possible. While a Synergo crew was responsible for the construction of the zip line itself, Henderson took charge of overseeing the construction of other outbuildings for storage and the like. (The main tour administrative office is in the nearby town of Healy.) Another cost-saver was the decision not to smooth out or pave the access road, which would have been an expensive undertaking. It was determined that the rough-and-tumble ride could actually be an asset; “it makes you feel like you’re really in the bush,” says Henderson.
OPERATIONS CONSIDERATIONS
Once up and running the next summer, the next challenge was to get people to come. According to Henderson, there are only about 450,000 visitors annually to Denali National Park (it drew around 600,000 visitors per year from 2016- 2019, and is on the upswing post-Covid), compared with, say, the more than 14 million annual visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where nearby adventure and theme parks flourish. Accommodations near the park en- trance are limited. What Henderson calls “local traffic”—from Fairbanks, to the north, or Anchorage, a drive of four hours or more to the south—could be counted on for only about 5 percent of all customers. However, Alaska is a popular haven (lit- erally) for cruise ships, and Denali Park Zipline partnered with cruise-ship and other tour operators to generate about 30 percent of its business from those sources. After that, park visitors staying
a three-hour tour from pick-up to drop- off. (Group discounts are also available.)
The ladder climb (top) and sky bridges (above) are just a couple of the elements used to access the zip lines along the tour.
With the tour now attracting about 6,000 customers a year, there is enough money coming in to turn a profit. The initial capital investment was covered within five years, says Henderson. Skilled staff. For all the challenges that backcountry Alaska presents, “the hard- est part of the job is staffing,” says Hen - derson. But, he adds, “it is also the most important part of the job.” Perhaps more than many zip tour operators, he tasks his guides with a high degree of responsibility. “Guides do everything ,” he says, mean- ing “they perform all course positions and duties except for higher-level tasks like periodic inspections or critical
in local lodging, RV travelers, and “lots of groups”—mostly scouts and military personnel—fill out the guest list. Revenue generators. Because the park relies on solar for its electricity, ancillary revenue opportunities were limited. Food and beverage, for example, was out of the question. Some merchandise items, i.e., t-shirts, are in the mix, but they represent a small piece of the reve- nue pie. The tour itself stands largely alone as a revenue generator, priced at $159 per adult and $119 for kids 8 to 12 years old, transportation included, for
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator