As a consultant in a rapidly growing and changing market, I am often asked to take out my crystal ball and to predict the future.
Are zip lines just a fad? In five years will they be a fleeting memory like the bungee jump once setup in the parking lot of the local mall? How many tours will there be in five years? What trends are emerging? And so on.
For those that do not know me, I’m a talker. Give me a barstool, a beer, and a topic I am passionate about and I will talk your ear off until my wife calls me home. Here’s the crux of the problem.
Tomorrow is the start of the ACCT Conference. Normally, I would be thrilled because the annual conference provides me the opportunity to meet new people, catch up with old friends, and hopefully sell some product. Problem is, I talk too much. As a result, I don’t always get a chance to answer everyone’s questions. Since I am not presenting this year and instead sitting behind a booth, I have decided to share publically some of the industry data I have collected, to make some predications, and I will also throw in some far fetched and probably inaccurate estimates.
A note about the information to follow: The information gathered in and presented here is based on the data mining of one person, late at night, over the course of many late nights. The quality of data is based on information retrieved from the websites of many operators, my personal experiences, and conversations with other builders, consultants, and vendors in the industry. Methods were not scientific.
Top 5 Questions Regarding Statistics, Trends, and One Man’s View of the Future
Q: How many zip lines are there in the United States?
Data on the total number of zip lines in the United States would be very challenging to collect. Zip lines can be found at many summer camps, schools, and outdoor education programs. Further, sales for backyard zip lines have grown significantly in the past few years. Based on informal conversations with other builders and backyard zip-line vendors, I would conservatively estimate that there are more than 13,000 zip lines in the United States (note: regulators beware). Backyard or amateur zip lines constitute a bulk of the total. Note: This does not include the inexpensive Fun Ride zip kits.
It is a much easier task to collect data on the number of commercial zip line tours, canopy tours, and zip rides that are available as these operations generally rely heavily on web marketing.
The following data includes commercial tours and amusement-style zip rides located in the United States and Canada. Excluded from these counts are camps, schools, operations that offer the zip line primarily as an attraction to their own clients and not to the general public, most tours in Quebec (Sorry Québécois, I do not speak French), and the incredible commercial courses built by Jim Liggett and crew at RCI as they are in a class all their own.
Number of Commercial Canopy Tours, Zip Line Tours, Zip Rides, and Aerial Trekking Courses in the United States and Canada
|
CANADA |
U.S.A. |
| Course Type |
Current |
By Summer |
Current |
By Summer |
| Canopy Tour / Zip Line Tour |
11 |
14 |
62 |
77 |
| Zip Ride |
3 |
5 |
8 |
12 |
| Aerial Trekking Course |
28 |
32 |
5 |
10 |
Q: At what rate is the market growing?
I’ll leave the percentages and statistics to someone else. It’s not a matter of not being able to do them. I just figure I put in the monotonous labor of researching the web, building the directory and entering the data; you can add and divide a few numbers.
Total Number of Commercial Tours in the United States and Canada by Year
|
< 2005 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
| Canopy Tour / Zip Line Tour |
2 |
9 |
16 |
21 |
41 |
70 |
| Aerial Trekking Course |
0 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
9 |
11 |
| Zip Ride |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Q: What trends are you observing?
There are a number of trends that have emerged over the past few years, but I’ll focus on the top four.
Technology drives opportunity and opportunity drives technology
Not so many years ago, operators had to question whether the trolley would make it down the zip line. Occasionally bearings would fail and smoke would emerge during the descent… we called it special effects.
The equipment on the market today is far superior in reliability, cost, comfort, and longevity. Technology is constantly evolving and, as a result, new tour types and experiences are emerging.
New trolley and braking designs are allowing riders to descend steeper terrain, travel faster, further, and more frequently. More comfortable harnesses have removed the discomfort associated with hanging in the trees and have opened tours to opportunities to serve client groups that are younger, older and heavier than what harnesses could previously accomodate.
New equipment is also creating opportunities for guides to act more efficiently, increasing throughput, and in some cases, removing the human element from the system all together (see Ropes Courses, Inc.’s Sky Trail).
Thanks to inventor Martin Tilley and entrepreneur Dennis Huntting at Flight Stimulator for their new hybrid electric trolley that defies gravity allowing zip lines that can take guests up, down, and now, around curves.
Not all experiences are the same. New models lead to new experiences.
The invention of the zip line is certainly nothing new. As a concept, a cable or rope anchored between two fixed or mobile points has been used for hundreds of years to transport people and materials across waterways or inaccessible terrain. The difference today is that entrepreneurs are now selling the experience for recreation, amusement, education, and even as a part of therapy. While the term zip line may define the structure, the user experiences couldn’t be more different.
Here are just a few of the evolving experience types:
- Amusement Rides: The race to be the furthest, fastest, and highest is on. While companies like to brag that they are the longest, fastest, and highest, they no sooner make the statement and someone is planning a zip line to out do them. Several lines over a mile have been installed or are being installed. A new zip line tour in the United States promises three miles of lines. For leaders in this field, check out ERi, ZipRider, and Jim Liggett. Each continue to surprise and delight me.
- Eco-Tours: View the zip line as a means to access and explore terrain. While thrills are part of the experience, solid interpretation combined with entertaining guides, interesting terrain, and an immersive course experience provide a twist on the good ole nature hike and allow guests into terrain that would be otherwise inaccessible to most.
Whether termed a canopy tour and positioned high in the forest canopy or a zip line tour exploring other facets of the topography, these tours often impart green building practices with a focus on conservation. Such tours have strong market appeal and, I believe, are positioned to endure long after the thrill rides have come and gone. S.T.E.P.S., Inc. and Bonsai Design have led the way in this area.
- Aerial Trekking and Physical Challenge: The Europeans and French Canadians are coming. While canopy tours may have gained popularity in the rainforests of South America, Aerial Trekking or Parcour are a truly European Model. Generally linear in nature, Aerial Trekking courses include a variety of games (typically referred to as obstacles in the U.S.) that lead clients through the trees crossing bridges, riding short zip lines, swinging from ropes, and in some cases, sliding down a cable while balancing on a skateboard.
Courses are generally semi-guided with ground-based supervision models that wane as guests move further through the course and prove their competence. The model is truly European and while I am an advocate of personal responsibility, I was bothered by the past three courses I experienced where I witnessed an average of ten persons remove themselves from the belay system at height. On average, only two of the ten violations were caught. On one course, I completed half a dozen belay transfers and climbed a ladder without securing myself. Guides never stopped me or called me on my clear violation of course policy. I believe this model must radically adapt itself to the U.S. culture or it will do a great damage to the industry.
In 2009, I am aware of three falls from height on these systems. That benig said, some companies have amassed enviable safety records over the years. With more than 20 courses in operation in the U.K., look for GoApes entrance in the U.S.. Whether they are prepared to accommodate our high than average obesity rates, lower than average fitness levels, and standards for fall protection will be a telling tale.
- SkyTrail®: The flagship of Ropes Courses, Inc., the SkyTrail® line of products offers the most advanced continuous-belay system on the market. The steel structure has the ability to be erected indoors and out, and offers throughput that is unmatched. With 200-plus elements to choose from and options to theme your course, the large steel structures provide an exciting urban option. The company also offers a new continuous-belay zip line tour experience.
Will continuous-belay and track systems put the other technologies out of business? As someone who has had the opportunity to manage both the SkyTrail® and other course types, I can only say that there are good applications for both. A new set of slings lines will soon be available on the market that will revolutionize the way risk on traditional ropes courses and belay transfers are managed.
Big Money has entered the building.
Just like on Wall Street, it is the maverick entrepreneurs, risk-takers, and inventors that often lead the charge. But where there is gold, you can bet Big Money will not be far behind. While most operations to date have been built by small groups of investors, privately wealthy individuals, or families betting their house on the business, a great number of the new courses on the market are being funded by Big Businesses. Expect new technologies, new course types, and the emergence of chains and brands.
While I expect there will still be plenty of room for boutique courses, I expect that bad businesses that have been surviving because they were the only game in town will disappear overnight.
While trade groups like the ACCT and PRCA has been slow to work out differences in their proposed ANSI standards, Big Money will implement standards quickly. No large investor group wants the exposure of a poorly constructed and poorly operated “mom and pop” down the road effecting their annual returns.
Building is hard work.
While many of us that build love the satisfaction of building, we also like the idea of not having to hoist heavy materials some day. Expect to see all of the premier builders in the industry move to building primarily for themselves and their courses operating courses. While Steve Gustafson at EBL was one of the first in the U.S. to make this move, other builders including ERi, Canopy Tours, Inc., Bonsai Design, and now me, are following suit.
What does this mean for other operations that want to get up and running? Currently there are only a handful of builders worth their salt in the market (sorry guys, but a lot of you have a long way to go in customer experience and construction techniques) and their build capacity is limited. The market has seen its share of builders trying to make the transition from challenge course to zip line tours and canopy tours; some have made it, some have not. Some have dabbled with success and decided that the idea of spending weeks in the field is not for them.
My advice to would be operators… plan ahead and allow 12 months or longer to be up and running. A good builder is worth the wait and can save you the hassle of learning the pitfalls of the business on your own.
Q. How much does it cost to build a canopy tour in today’s market?
Wrong question. The correct question would be, “How much of an investment would it take to build a successful business?” This all depends on your location, infrastructure requirements, course type, and desired returns. I recommend contacting several builders and consultants. While there are not a ton of options on the market, there are some really talented people that can help answer those questions for you and provide you genuine consult.But whatever you do, do not go to some rinky-dink course in a third world country and try to reverse engineer the system. This is not to say that all third world canopy tours are rinky-dink, but when course owners tell me they don’t want to spend $5,000 to have an engineer fly down and install rated rock anchors for their new line because it only cost $2,000 to pay-off the family of the guide that was seriously injured when the last anchors failed, I must urge caution. If you are going to make a run at it, do it the right way and hire good counsel who can educate you on the industry, business models, fall protection and building standards, train your staff, engineer and install your course, and more importantly, with whom you would like to work. In the long-run the results are clear. The courses that have hired good counsel and done their research have reaped the greatest rewards.
Q. Can you provide us with more statistics?
Sure. The commercial tours listed above served an estimated 1.8 million people in 2009. Based on the average number of zip lines per tour, that is 10.3 million zip experiences (excluding staff rides). Remember, the tours above do not include some estimated 12,900 other zip lines spread across the United States and Canada.
Based on data collected from the websites of the tours included in the study, here is a breakdown of the range of costs for tours.
| |
Low |
Average |
Median |
High |
| Aerial Trekking |
$ 25.00 |
$ 42.11 |
$ 40.00 |
$ 75.00 |
| Canopy Tour / Zip Line Tour |
$ 39.00 |
$ 98.80 |
$ 85.00 |
$ 399.00 |
| Zip Ride |
$ 10.00 |
$ 40.40 |
$ 29.50 |
$ 120.00 |
Q. Do you know how many people were seriously injured or killed in 2009?
I highly doubt there is any one person who can accurately answer this question. Based on reports I have received from legal firms seeking expert witness, clients calling to seek guidance in repairing lines or receive training, news reports, and conversations with other builders and operators, I can safely say that professionally constructed and managed courses by reputable builders have amassed an outstanding safety record. On the other hand, there were a number of serious accidents that occurred on amateur lines, often in homeowner’s backyards or vacant lots. For videos of some of these accidents and examples of how not to build and operate a zip line, click here.
Note: Zip lines are dangerous.
Q. What is the future of the industry?
This is an exciting time to be a builder, an operator, and a rider. Over the course of the next few years, I predict we will see a number of inventive and novel experiences emerge including eco-tours, tree house communities, large-scale animatronics (like dinosaurs that swipe at riders), roller coasters that replace steel tubes with steel wire rope and depart from the traditional amusement park setting to pristine wilderness where rides span miles, more tours, increased volume, increased regulation, big brands, franchises, and plentiful business opportunities. All and all, the future for commerical operations looks good. What makes me nervous are cheap knock-offs, backyard zip lines built with inadequate materials on the cheap, aging camp courses, do-it-yourselfers, the disemination of bad advice and building techniques across the internet, guests zipping and firing paintball guns, first time builders reverse engineering third world courses.
“O.K., Mike, I’m a builder… and this piece was filled with callouts. Why was I not mentioned in this piece?”
Well, if you are the builder who stole all the content from the homepage of one of my websites and posted it as your own homepage, are the builder who is currently showcasing work from my former employer as your own and have failed to respond to requests to remove it, have plagiarized waiver templates from one of my former clients, stolen designs, or frankly just aren’t very good at what you do, then there is your answer. That said, there are many other builders and consultants doing excellent work in the field and I hope to showcase your efforts soon.
