Skywalk has operator walking tall

David Jin largely built his fortune betting on gamblers. So maybe it shouldn't come as any surprise that when he saw an opportunity, he was willing to take the biggest gamble of all. Jin, the owner of Las Vegas-headquartered Y-Travel and Grand Canyon West Express, is the force behind the Grand Canyon West Skywalk — the $30 million steel-and-glass engineering marvel that allows visitors the chance to stroll (or, in some cases, crawl in terror) 70 feet out into thin air, 4,000 feet above the Colorado River.

Skywalk, which opened March 28, and has already attracted thousands of visitors, is situated 120 miles from Las Vegas on the Grand Canyon's West Rim, on land belonging to the Hualapai Indian tribe. Jin is betting that the attraction will be a big draw for Las Vegas tourists who don't want to travel all the way to more established Grand Canyon attractions. Last year, about 300,000 people visited the West Rim, most of them on "flightseeing" or helicopter tours. Compare that to the 4.1 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park. And then think of the potential posed by the 38 million who visit Las Vegas every year.

So far, the attraction is bringing in about 3,000 visitors a day, up from about 700 before Jin stepped in. Jin's own Y-Travel brings many of them in aboard its 20 MCI® J4500s. All visitors who park at the welcome center get ferried about 13 miles to the main Skywalk area aboard Jin's other MCI coaches, which are meticulously maintained to keep passengers comfortable despite the frequent heat and dust.

"We're really proud to be even a small part of it," says Dave Dorr, MCI's sales representative who has worked closely with Y-Travel and Jeff Whiteaker, Grand Canyon West's general manager. Dorr describes his own venture onto the Skywalk as both "weird" and "phenomenal," with a sort of exhilarating bit of vertigo. Like all visitors, he donned a pair of booties to protect the thick glass floor, and left his cell phone and camera behind, lest they be dropped on the floor — or over the edge.

Whiteaker predicts Skywalk will look very different in a year or so. Grand Canyon West is still in its infancy, despite the international stir caused by Skywalk's opening — which included an out-there stroll by astronaut Buzz Aldrin along with major television and press coverage. The area so far offers tourist attractions including an Indian Village; the Hualapai Market, where local artisans demonstrate crafts; and the Ranch, a Western town with wagon and horseback rides along with various other activities. There are also opportunities to raft the Colorado River and dash about aboard a Hummer. Grand Canyon West will eventually include a 6,000-square-foot visitors center, with a museum, a movie theater, a gift shop and restaurants. The Hualapai are in the midst of building accommodations as well, and efforts are underway to pave the road leading to the heart of Grand Canyon West.

While it's not every operator that can muster the resources of such a project, it's not hard to be more than a little inspired by what thinking big and making one's own opportunities can bring. Just ask David Jin.

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