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Business Plan |
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Business Description |
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Type of business: Hospitality
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| Products or services the business will provide: Dryad’s Realm Redwood Retreat will be a fully equipped, soft activity facility catering to naturist families. It is situated in an area that is a destination spot for tourists looking for a beautiful and safe place to relax and enjoy a range of outdoor activities. |
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| The long-term plan is for the business to offer 100 tent sites, each big enough for four people, 25 fully equipped RV sites, and 12 geodesic dome or Yurt “cabins.” The campground will also offer a small laundry room and shower room, swimming pool, 3 hot tubs, Reiki and massage therapists, an all purpose, conference, dining dome, and recreational activities, including: guided cultural hiking tours through local Redwood Parks, whale watching, bird & wildlife viewing, photography, volleyball, picnic tables and barbecuing. | ||
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Mission Statement: |
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The Dryad Group, Inc. will offer high quality customer service |
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Business and Industry Market Analysis |
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Industry Sector: Tourism |
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| A history of the industry: Camping provides an opportunity to experience nature and the environment first hand. Campers participate in fishing, hunting, swimming, wildlife viewing, and nature photography activities. Just as importantly, camping helps people escape the stress of urban life while providing physical benefits, including exercise from hiking, swimming and many other activities. Scouts and other youth organizations believe that camping instills confidence in youth and offers older campers opportunities to challenge themselves in unfamiliar surroundings. |
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| Camping takes many forms. In the 19th century, American naturalist and explorer John Muir routinely set off into the woods with little more than a sack of food and a journal to write his thoughts. In the early 20th century, American conservationist and philosopher Aldo Leopold paddled a canoe and rode horseback through the wilderness of the Midwest while taking time as a writer. The works of Muir and Leopold, as well as writings by Americans Edward Abbey and Henry David Thoreau, have inspired others to spend time in the wilderness. | ||
| Modern camping enthusiasts may share the emotions of earlier naturalists, along with their desire to experience nature, but they usually camp in commercial camp grounds, which serve as campsites for RV and backpackers on the outskirts of national and state parks, along highways throughout Canada and the United States along both coastlines. | ||
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| Currently, there are over 1,713 campsites in North Coastal Regional State and Federal Parks and numerous private ones – 40% of which are in Humboldt County. The total number of recreational areas, parks and ecological reserves in the Redwood Empire equals a little more than 100. Most campsites are either within or next to state parks. State park campsites overall recorded 2.6 million visits in 2001, down from the year before. North coastal Redwood parks bucked this trend, with visits increasing by two percent in 2001. Campgrounds in Humboldt Redwood State Park alone record an average of 750,000 visits per year. | ||
| Federal and State budget cuts have cut the availability of supervised camp sites by almost 50%, leaving private sector campgrounds located outside the parks to fill in the gap | ||
| This presents a unique opportunity for The Dryad Group, Inc. to compete directly with industry campgrounds, and especially to fulfill a need in a niche market – the clothing optional camper. Clothing optional camping is a growth industry, currently estimated at over $400 million. | ||
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| The campground business is undergoing some changes to meet consumer demand for a higher level of convenience and a wider choice of recreational activities, which Dryad’s Realm Redwood Retreat will be able to fulfill. Studies show that successful campgrounds offer a range of on-site outdoor activities, as well as making the most of opportunities provided by the surrounding wilderness or park areas, as Dryad’s Realm will do. | ||
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