KINGMAN - A recently revived Kingman association plans to unite government, civic organizations and the community to improve the city’s profile, increase tourism and promote business.
The Kingman Route 66 Association, which was dormant for about a decade, became active again late last year and hopes to help make the city more marketable to tourists, business and potential new residents through a variety of programs and cooperative efforts.
“One of our primary goals is to create attractions for people instead of just being a stopover,” association president Tim McDonnell said. “Our motel occupancy is off the chart, but the average check-in time is 8 p.m. and the average check-out time is 8 a.m.”
Turning the city into a tourism destination will take time and cooperation from government and numerous other entities, but McDonnell sees no reason some marketing can’t begin almost immediately. The city’s location near so many tourist attractions like Grand Canyon West, the Grand Canyon, the London Bridge, Oatman and Las Vegas makes it a viable central location for tourists to stay while visiting the region, he said.
“If you come to Kingman and stay a week, how many places can you visit from Kingman,” McDonnell said. “It only makes sense to promote Kingman through Route 66. It’s always been about location. First it was the Hualapais, then the Mines and they the railroad. Now it’s the railroad and I-40 and Hwy 93 and the CanAmex Highway is going to come through Kingman.
“Location goes beyond industry. It’s a great place with a great climate. We have four seasons. We have mild winters and the summers aren’t too hot. Our location for residential growth is fantastic.”
The original Route 66 Association was formed by Scott Dunton with a group of Kingman business owners, McDonnell said. But, after a few years activity dwindled and the group became dormant.
“Fortunately for us Mr. Dunton kept the 5013C active all these years,” McDonnell said. “In September we got it rolling again.”
Kingman’s implementation of impact fees, considered by most to be detrimental to the recruitment of business, served as a catalyst for the group’s revival.
“It came through the town hall meetings regarding impact fees,” McDonnell said. “Our primary purpose is to promote Kingman regionally, locally, nationally and internationally.”
There are a number of steps do so in the works, but none of them are quite ready to take off yet.
“Use the analogy of a diver. We spent the last six months climbing the stairs. Now we’ve worked our way out to the edge of the board and we’re ready to dive into our projects,” McDonnell said.
The list of projects is ambitious and it begins with an Internet site promoting Kingman’s affiliation with Route 66.
“Our biggest project was getting a Web site started,” McDonnell said. “We’ll use the Web site to promote Kingman as a destination.”
But, once visitors get to Kingman there must be attractions to keep them in the city.
“We’re planning on working together with other organizations to create downtown events for the community,” McDonnell said. “We’re in the planning stages of a downtown event that would be monthly. We’re working with the Route 66 Cruizers and the Downtown Merchants Association on that.”
There are also plans to make the city more aesthetically attractive.
“We want to revive all the neon and classic advertising along Route 66. We’re raising funds to help make that possible,” McDonnell said. “One of our goals is to put murals around town. They’ll be historical and include history from the Hualapapis and the area’s WWII involvement.
“We have a Route 66 cleanup committee that has done a fantastic job of cleaning up from the Powerhouse Visitor Center to the railroad trestle.”
Ultimately, the goal is to enhance the economy and quality of life in the Kingman region through cooperative efforts with civic organizations, government and business, McDonnell said.
“This isn’t about us. It is about promoting all of Kingman.”
For more information about the association or to become involved with its various projects e-mail the group at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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