Waterpark World

July 12, 2006

Bill Wembly of Traverse City recalls that he chuckled when he first heard that Traverse City was going to have a water park built.
“I said to my wife, ‘what the hell do we need a water park here for, we have the largest water park in the world right in our backyard’ (referencing Lake Michigan). It seemed odd but I guess, as they say, if you build it they will come,” said Wembly.
Build it they did. Great Wolf Resorts Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin opened the 38,000-square-foot Great Wolf Lodge (Traverse City) in March of 2003 at a price tag of $32 million. The people did come and Great Wolf has announced they will expand in early 2007 by doubling the size of their indoor water park and adding several more hotel rooms.
Other water park developers have eyed projects south of Traverse City next to the Wuerfel Park (the Beach Bums park), while zoning issues have stopped a project on the base of the Leelanau Peninsula. Some speculate that a struggling tourism economy has slowed down movement on both proposed projects.
 
TOURISM SOLUTION
While tourism has struggled since the 9-11 tragedy, that’s especially the case in Michigan where the state ranks last in several travel indicators such as hotel room occupancy. All neighboring states have returned or exceeded their pre-September 11, 2001 tourism industry dollars. Local wineries and water parks have bucked the current trend and both have served as the regions bright lights in attracting tourists over the past 5 years.
In May of 2005 Boyne USA Resorts opened Avalanche Bay an 88,000-square-foot indoor water park. According to Julie Ard, Director of Resort Marketing and Communications for Boyne USA Resorts, the water park has not only expanded Boyne’s (skiing and golf resort) customer base but has served the region’s tourism interests as well.
“The water park has created a whole new dimension for us as far as guests go. We have introduced our resort operation to people who might not have had an interest in coming here before because they viewed us a golf or skiing destination. We also have created an attraction that works year round regardless of the weather,” said Ard. “We noticed in the first year that not only did we have many first time visitors to our Resort, but also first time visitors to Northern Michigan.”
Boyne and Great Wolf have been popular “spring break” destinations with some families seeing water parks as affordable alternatives to Florida or tropical islands.
“With the auto industry on the ropes and my business and my wife’s job depending on that industry, we opted for the water park here in Boyne versus a trip to Florida,” said Jeff Buckner of Royal Oak. “We have never been north, ever, and it is beautiful up here. We are having so much fun. I called my buddy who went to Florida and it is raining. I laughed and told him it only rains every 10 minutes at the water park (referencing the water bucket that dumps 800 gallons of water). We went into Petoskey one of the days and were blown away by all that is up here.”
Several, who filled up Avalanche Bay and Boyne’s many rooms at the Grand Mountain Lodge, echoed Buckner’s comments during mid-April when many southeastern Michigan school districts were on spring break.
 
BLAME IT ON EUROPE
The water park phenomenon started in the 1950s at European ski resorts with the addition of spas that included heated outdoor pools, water slides and hot tubs. The indoor water park craze began in the United States in the early 1990s in Wisconsin Dells, which boasts 18 water parks including the world’s largest. It is referred to as the “Water Park Capital” of the world.
According to the World Waterpark Association, to be defined as an “indoor waterpark,” you must have at least 10,000 square feet of water rides (many resorts have started billing themselves as a water park by simply adding a slide to their pool). There are over 2,000 parks that meet this criterion worldwide with several hundred scheduled to open this year.
So what is making the industry grow so fast? According to Gina B. Kellogg, director of communications at the World Waterpark Association, it all has to do with families.
“Waterparks appeal to families who want quality recreation time in an extremely safe environment. After all, waterparks are the safest place to have fun in the water compared to oceans, rivers, lakes and even swimming pools. Thus, parents can feel confident about going to a waterpark with their kids,” said Kellogg. “Additional reasons for the growth of waterparks concerns the fact many tourism-based regions have been flat. Once families have experienced the fun of a waterpark, they are less interested in visiting a regular resort—and thus adding to the industry’s growing numbers.”
Julie Ard also believes that visitors are changing their travel patterns with more and more families traveling in groups.
“We see clusters of families planning multi-family vacations together.  Sometimes the dads hit the golf course and the moms take the kids to the waterpark or vice versa” said Ard. “During the winter months we get groups of families traveling together and not everyone skis, so the waterpark is a great alternative.”
 
WEATHER FACTOR
Northern Michigan tourism advocate Joe Breidenstein of Walloon Lake has long been a promoter of shoulder season marketing to the area, especially during the spring months. He sees these waterparks solving one of the regions challenges: weather.
“Weather has been our nemesis at times. Larry Mawby, at his winery, has this sign that says ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes.’ But weather is a driver all year long. Lack of snow in the winter months to rainy, cool summers all hurt,” said Breidenstein. “It appears that these waterparks have ‘weatherproofed’ the regions tourism industry.”
But will three to five additional indoor waterparks (the potential, if all proposed projects are built) in the coming years be the saving attraction to the region’s lagging tourism economy? Boyne and Great Wolf have banked millions that they will. 
One myth that both Avalanche Bay and Great Wolf Lodge want to dispel is the lack of access to their waterparks for locals. Both facilities have opportunities for non-resort guests to use the water parks. Each property has their own policy, visit their websites for further details: Avalanche Bay www.avalanchebay.com or (800)462-6963 and Great Wolf Lodge www.greatwolflodge.com or (231) 941-3600.

Early Indications Are Mixed For Region’s Tourism

Despite near perfect weather and temperatures, area tourism businesses are reporting mixed results. During the National Cherry Festival most Traverse City lodging operations had their “vacancy” signs flashing. 
Northern Michigan’s tourism industry has been sluggish in recent years. Industry experts have placed blame on everything from Michigan’s economy to high gas prices, to post-9/11 travel fears, to inconsistent weather. Others have suggested Michigan’s lack of tourism promotion dollars combined with neighboring states’ aggressive marketing efforts are equally to blame.
Local tourism officials and area tourist-based businesses continue to look for answers.
One place to look might be the Michigan Tourism Strategic Plan. Led by the Michigan State University Tourism Center in cooperation with Travel Michigan and other tourism industry stakeholders, the strategic plan looks to develop a model to improve and grow one of the states largest and most important industries.
Strategic planners will be in Northern Michigan next week seeking input from all that are willing to voice their ideas on how the state and our region can shape their identity to best attract visitors. The strategic plan will be released next March at the State’s annual tourism conference to be held at the Grand Traverse Resort.
To learn more about the Michigan Tourism Strategic Plan visit
www.tourismcenter.msu.edu. Public input may be given at the following locations:

 
 Northwest Lower Michigan
Date: July 19, 2006
Time: 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Location:Grand Traverse
Resort & Spa
Acme, Michigan 49610
web: www.grandtraverseresort.com

Northeast Lower Michigan
Date: July 20, 2006
Time: 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Location:Great Lakes Maritime
Heritage Center
500 W. Fletcher St.
Alpena, MI. 49707
web: www.alpenacvb.com