Last year’s Dragon-Bravo Fire on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and this August’s devastating floods that restricted lodging on the South Rim, have been a major disruption for local businesses who rely on tourists.
Stoney Ward, the general manager of Buckwild Hummer Tours in Tusayan, said his business has been down about 50% and many businesses have been set back worse than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s literally killed all the businesses up here. I mean, we thought we were going to recover from the Bravo fires,” Ward said. “Then things were starting to come back a little bit and we were starting to see some light. And then the flood came through.”
Ward wants people to know the Grand Canyon is not closed, just that the South Rim lodging is unavailable for several more weeks as construction is completed on the water supply lines.
He is urging prospective tourists not to be deterred from visiting the Grand Canyon just because the lodging on the South Rim is closed. He says there is still much to do.
“The thing is, it’s actually been beautiful out there. The tourism is way down right now, and we want to educate people this is like the best time of the year to come out,” Ward said.
Lodging closures have been extended through October and the National Park Service expects operations to start up again around Thanksgiving.
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