![]() “By the end of this year I’ll have cleared 300 tours,” he tells me. Dennis Balthaser, a local man who runs extraterrestrial-themed tours in Roswell, says demand is such that he’s now running them twice daily, five days a week. Here too, UFO tourism has kicked into hyperdrive of late and the ‘grey dollar’ (as it’s been jokingly nicknamed by some in the industry, after the most frequent visualisation of alien skin tone) is being spent as never before. Like Rachel, Roswell has embraced its alien-friendly status in recent years, with notable sites ranging from the International UFO Museum and Research Center to a spaceship-shaped McDonald’s restaurant. Inevitably, that list also includes Roswell, New Mexico, the site of the most famous alleged UFO crash, in July 1947, and what many believe was the mother of all government cover-ups afterwards. It’s that ‘normal’ clientele on road trips, as opposed to the committed conspiracy theorists, that’s driving the current trend - causing a rise in bookings both here and at other UFO hotspots. They come out on road trips from Las Vegas and they’re looking to tick this place off their bucket lists - to stay overnight and have a story and images to share on social media before driving on.” ![]() “We’re still getting the diehard UFO fans, of course, but the majority of new guests are normal people like you or me, who’ve seen Area 51 mentioned on the news or in a movie and are curious to check it out for themselves. “There’s definitely been an increase in business out here in the last couple of years we’re seeing a lot more tours like yours coming through,” says Cody, as I sip one of the Little A’Le’Inn’s signature ‘Spiced Abduction’ cocktails next to a sign that reads ‘Earthlings Welcome’. At its only motel, the appropriately monikered ‘Little A’Le’Inn’, manager Cody Theising says they too have seen a noted uptick in bookings as UFO tourism has taken off. Shadows slowly lengthening, we finally retreat to Rachel - a dusty, one-horse town a bumpy, eight-mile drive from Area 51. As we pass, mounted cameras grind and whir in our direction and the inscrutable SUV maintains its vigilant watch. Under these watchful eyes, we continue our exploration, Nate pointing out satellite towers, barracks and even a bizarre mirrored pyramid visible within the perimeter. “Don’t worry - as long as we don’t enter the base proper, we’ll be absolutely fine.” “The camo guys are just letting us know they’re there,” says Nate. ![]() Sure enough, as we approach another gate, Nate spots a white SUV parked on a bluff, which flashes its headlights as we approach. I’ve heard these defenders of the Earth drive unmarked white SUVs, sitting sphinx-like behind mirrored sunglasses as they trail visitors from a discreet distance. Those guards are what ufologists call ‘camo guys’ - the real-life equivalent of the Men in Black from the Hollywood film. Don’t be under any illusion - there are multiple guards watching us right now.” There are motion sensors and cameras everywhere, and they follow your every move. “The US government didn’t even officially admit this place existed until 2013, after all. “People get very excited about coming out to Area 51, but once we arrive at the gates, they realise how serious the whole thing is,” says Nate as we march along the perimeter, looking for a better vantage point. Nate’s own tour, which also takes in the nearby Extraterrestrial Highway and the tiny town of Rachel - a hub of purported paranormal activity - recently became one of Airbnb’s ‘experiences’, and bookings are landing faster than the Martian invasion force in HG Wells’ classic sci-fi novel The War of the Worlds. But another trend has been growing out here too: that of UFO tourism. The ‘Storm Area 51’ Facebook joke, which went viral earlier this summer (with two million people signing up for the mass invasion of the facility in order to ‘see them aliens’) put this highly classified military base firmly back in the public eye. ![]() Whichever way you cut it, an awful lot of people believe that if the truth is out there, it’s probably in here. Others speculate that the facility is dedicated to the reverse engineering of recovered alien technology, or even time travel. Many believe UFO wreckage from the infamous Roswell Incident of 1947 is hidden inside this perimeter - along with the remains of its intergalactic pilots. The secret air force base in Nevada has been at the centre of extra-terrestrial speculation since the 1940s. “You’d be face first in the dirt with a gun to the back of your head before you knew what was happening.”įor alien enthusiasts, this is ground zero. “Don’t even think about it,” warns my previously jovial guide, brow furrowing under his neon-coloured bandana. ![]() It would be so easy to simply step over the dotted line in the road here, to enter America’s most mysterious military installation. ![]()
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