You're a hiker, not a gambler? The great outdoors is nearby

LAS VEGAS — Thousands of Las Vegas tourists won't set foot inside a casino this year, but will leave footprints at Grand Canyon National Park.

The nature-tour industry still is overshadowed by the Las Vegas Strip, but as the city has become a more common destination for international travelers, a growing number of tourists want to row boats instead of rolling dice and strap on hiking boots instead of cocktail dresses.

"More and more, we're hearing from our customers that they don't gamble when they come here, but they still like Las Vegas for the shows and the sightseeing," said Ken Pontone, owner of Las Vegas Grand Canyon Tours.

Kevin Bagger, director of Internet marketing and research for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said many tourists, especially international visitors, use Las Vegas as a hub for their travels around the Southwest.

More than one-fifth of Las Vegas tourists make a side trip to an attraction outside the city when they visit, Bagger said. The most popular destinations include the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.

The convention authority is projecting 39.1 million people will visit Las Vegas in 2006, and more than 8 million people are expected to make some kind of side trip.

"We're expecting a 10 percent increase in the number of customers this year over last year," said Pontone, who would not disclose the number of his customers in 2005.

Pontone said many Asians and Europeans purchase adventure packages because a tour of the Grand Canyon, for many, is the trip of a lifetime. Most range in age from their late 30s to senior citizens, although there are some younger couples with children.

Pontone said one of the most popular trips, a day bus tour to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, takes 13 ½ hours and costs $89.

"It's popular because you can take large groups and it's relatively inexpensive," Pontone said.

Some tours are for the more adventurous, with combinations of air tours, helicopter flights, raft trips on the Colorado River and all-terrain vehicle expeditions.

One is a sport-utility vehicle tour, which includes a trip to Hoover Dam and Boulder City, a helicopter ride, a boat trip and tour with six persons to a guide, costing $326 a person.

Las Vegas Grand Canyon Tours works with a variety of vendors, including Scenic Airlines, Vision Air and helicopter companies Papillon and Heli-USA.

Papillon flies about 200,000 passengers a year to attractions from Las Vegas, Boulder City and the south rim of the Grand Canyon, a company spokeswoman said.

While the Grand Canyon is one of the most popular destinations in the catalog, Pontone said tours are offered to other attractions. There's a flying tour to southern Utah's Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks. Monument Valley, on the Arizona-Utah border, the setting of many Hollywood westerns, also is a popular destination.

Pontone said Death Valley, the lowest point in the United States, is a seasonal destination in the spring and fall, but tourists avoid it in the summer when temperatures routinely climb above 115 degrees.

There also are bus tours to Red Rock Canyon and horseback riding and ATV expeditions at Valley of Fire State Park, north of Las Vegas.

A destination growing in popularity is Grand Canyon West on the Hualapai Indian Reservation in northern Arizona, a two-hour drive from Las Vegas. The tribe has developed an Old West town and a display of traditional Indian dwellings.

A horseshoe-shaped glass walkway to extend over the edge of the Grand Canyon is scheduled to open by the end of the year.

"This is a great base for tours," Pontone said of Las Vegas. "People like going to the Grand Canyon. It's like when Americans go to China, they have to go to the Great Wall."