Attendance down at Kartchner Caverns

BENSON—Fewer people are visiting Kartchner Caverns.

A 19 percent decline in visitors last year has tourism and state parks officials looking at different strategies to get people back. Some ideas include lower prices and promotions to market the caverns. The caverns near Benson feature colorful and pristine formations.

Sometimes reservations were required up to eight months in advance. But often visitors can walk in and join a tour.

One strategy is letting people know that tickets are more available than they once were.

“We are suffering from our initial success,” said Jay Ziemann, assistant director of Arizona State Parks. “The perception is that it takes months to get a reservation. We’re trying to let people know that isn’t the case anymore.”

Since Kartchner Caverns opened in 1999, the average annual attendance has lingered near 200,000 as people snatched up the approximately 500 tour spots available each day. Last year, only about 160,000 people visited the caves.

Ziemann said higher gas prices and diminished interest in travel are partly to blame for the decrease in attendance. But the loss of the caverns’ early novelty also has hurt, he said.

Kartchner was discovered in 1974. It was kept secret until the late 1980s so the caves would be preserved.

“Initially, people waited for a decade to see Kartchner before it opened,” Ziemann said. “Now they’ve seen it, and we need to get them back.”

“This is a common problem for places that sell an experience,” said Robert Lusch, a professor and head of the marketing department at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. “A person’s experience at Kartchner can last forever, which means they may not feel the need to come back,” Lusch said.

Lusch added Kartchner needs to focus on finding ways to expand people’s experiences at the caverns.