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Zip Line and Canopy Tour Blog
To Build a Better Zip Line... Engage the User Featured
Written by Michael R. Smith
I both relish and abhor the growing popularity of zip lines and canopy tours. I used to take great pleasure at the blank stares I received when people asked what I did and I had to explain the concept of a zip line or canopy tour... the freedom of flight... the opportunity to explore wild places... the chance to test one's reserves... Always the storyteller, I loved observing as their imagination kicked in and, if even just for a brief second, my guest was transported to a place far away, dangerous, and often far more wild and adventurous than anything the real world could produce. The growing popularity of zip lines in the media, however, has stolen this simple pleasure. When I begin to explain the concept of a zip line or canopy tour these days, I am met with references to commercials selling cars, cruises, and cereal bars. Like a good novel adapted for the big screen, the imagination that would be engaged through verse is lost to 30-second, dumbed-down trailers. Rather than being transported to deep forests and wild places, the user is transported to a couch in front of their television with scenes crafted by Madison Avenue Ad Men.
And it's not just the simple pleasure that has been stolen, but the true adventure. When I conceived of this web site, I was excited to go out and explore the vast array of courses that were being installed across the U.S.. In part, I was seeking inspiration…
Zip Line and Canopy Tours: Statistics, Trends, and Predictions Featured
Written by Michael R. Smith
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…
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Zip Line and Canopy Tour Blog
Zip Lines that Serve a Practical Purpose
Written by Michael R. Smith
Before zip lines became a source a recreation and entertainment... before they were used for scientific study in the trpoical forests of Central America... zip lines served the very practical purpose of transporting goods and people across gorges, canyons, waterways, and vessels. Following the Earthquate in May of 2008, residents in the Sichuan Province use a zip line to cross a bridge that had failed.
[WSJ - photo: San Lang/European Pressphoto Agency]
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Zip Line and Canopy Tour Blog
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