Hello All,
If one wants to claim that people are looking for alternatives to driving AZ 64 to the south rim the Grand Canyon National Park and GCR fills that void and this is the reason for their ridership numbers, I wonder how you explain the Polar Express numbers? The Polar Express at GCR runs to MP 18 and then returns to Williams never reaching the National Park MP 64. Yet in conversations with Mr. Harper he stated that of the 40 some properties doing the Polar Express GCR portion of the Polar Express was over 10 % of the total polar business in the nation. The Grand Canyon as the destination does not explain this part of their business.
Conversely the when the C&TS brought the third locomotive under the current FRA code in 2005 a commissioner announced that they would see a dramatic increase in ridership. Yet the C&TS has still not gotten back to the 50,000+ they carried in 2000 and 2001. The damage created by man made events that became publicly apparent in 2002 including the lack of response to FRA concerns on track and then the fire closures from that year. The ignoring of the new part 230 which by quark only allowed 487 to operate in 2003 and the lack of an investment in a constant long term business (where ALL PARTICIPANTS are working for the same goals) and marketing plan has continually hurt the property. If people do not know that one, you are open, and, two what you have to offer, why would anyone bother to come to your property. When the reason a family of 4 knows about your property is because Dad came across the railroad in riding a bike from El Paso to Denver and not your advertising campaign then you may need to expand your marketing audience. The other mistake is setting up an experience from a Railfan perspective and not how to entertain the entire family. When everyone is enjoying or has part of the experience addressing their interest during part of the trip then they all are more likely to return.
It is critically important to realize that Railfans and model railroaders do not buy enough tickets to create mass crowds for any operation, yet many places only see these people as their perspective audience. The true answer as to why one group is more successful in attracting people and other are not can be found in the marketing abilities and successes of each group. If you have a limited group that you focus your business plan on then you create a limited number of potential visitors. GCR is a classic example of how the RR struggled at many levels until the explosion that happened due to a marketing push that included a new air lines out of LA to the Phoenix and the canyon (this did not take hold as envisioned) and the AAA campaign that has proven very successful for GCR. As ownership has changed the marketing push slowed and business growth has reflected this.
When people are planning trips and determining what they are going to do they can not consider you if they do not know if you exist and what you offer. If you are going to attract their consideration of going to your property the potential visitor first has to have the ability to find out you even exists. They then need to know what you have to offer. You can not put together an event two months before it is suppose to happen and expect it to be a success from the start. Grand Canyon Railways Polar Experience started as a way to sell a few more motel rooms in a slow part of the business season. As things evolved it has taken its own importance where smart people found what the potential visitor was looking for and they have worked hard to deliver it.
Motive power can make a difference but it depends upon how you market or do not market your event or experience that truly sells tickets.
Respectively,
Robby Peartree
