'Nevada Passage' turns into boon for tourism efforts

The first two episodes of "The Nevada Passage," a one-hour television show pitting coed teams of professionals against each other in locations designed to promote Nevada's raw and rugged beauty, generated more than $5.5 million in media coverage.

State tourism officials hope to extend the run with the third installment of the series this year.

The $5.5 million in coverage represents the value of news articles, television coverage and other exposure for the program, says Chrystal. The commission calculates how much that free coverage would be worth if it had been paid advertising.

"The Nevada Passage" first was syndicated in August 2005 and aired in more than 100 markets on affiliates for ABC, CBS, NBC, UPN, Fox, as well as on several resort networks.

"This whole show is designed to enhance our image and brand us as a desirable outdoor destination,"

Chrystal says. "To drive more visitors to Nevada, you have to have the right kind of image to draw appeal. Outdoors adventure is an under-developed market, and it is a good market. We have it, but it had been ignored. The Nevada Passage is a great way to see Nevada's adventure opportunities."

The show is produced by TEAM Unlimited, a Honolulu-based television events and marketing company. Production costs for the first two years totaled $1.1 million, and the NCOT has budgeted $563,000 for this year's show.

Taping of the third installment begins May 7 in southern Nevada and concludes May 11-12 at Mt. Rose and the Carson Valley.

This year's competitions include back-roads cycling between Tonopah and Goldfield with a highlight on the ghost town of Rhyolite; back-country skiing on Mt. Rose; and an ATV competition on the Amargosa Dunes north of Las Vegas.

Past shows featured snowboarding down Sand Mountain near Fallon and kayaking at the Truckee River Whitewater Park.

The NCOT estimates the program has reached more than 5.4 million viewers, and the program's Web site, www.nevadapassage.com, has received almost 200,000 hits since '05. The first two years of the show, just one piece of the NCOT's "America's Adventure Place" marketing campaign, are available online.

"The effort to re-brand began with a need to diversify, which we have done," Chrystal adds. "Now our tourism base economy is so diverse that gaming only accounts for about 25 percent of tourism revenue."