A British holiday resort owner is locked in a dispute with a native American tribe over its plans to build a road allowing thousands of tourists to visit the Grand Canyon skywalk, which opened last week amid great fanfare.

Nigel Turner, whose Grand Canyon West Ranch is popular with British holiday-makers seeking an authentic 'Old West' experience, fears that the beauty of the Arizona desert will be destroyed if the Hualapai tribe get its way. The horseshoe-shaped skywalk, a glass-bottom observation deck 4,000ft above the canyon floor, was opened by guests including astronaut Buzz Aldrin. The tribe hopes the skywalk, which is 120 miles east of Las Vegas, will form the centrepiece of a tourism industry on their reservation that will include helicopter tours, river rafting, a cowboy town and a museum of Indian replica homes.

But to get to the skywalk, visitors must drive 14 miles up a bone-shaking dirt track. The Hualapai want to pave it, but must gain permission from Turner because it cuts through his 106,000-acre ranch. He has refused, saying that it would spoil the experience of holidaymakers who can take a helicopter to his ranch, go horse-riding at sunset, sing campfire songs and enjoy peace and tranquillity 70 miles from the nearest town. 'The fantastic beauty of the place is what I'm trying to preserve,' said Turner, a former army pilot from Stockport, Greater Manchester, who moved to America 20 years ago. 'We had 36,000 visitors from the UK last year and they want to see the real Wild West and the Grand Canyon. The proposed highway is through my land. You put a paved road through there and you destroy what so many people want to see.

'Ten years ago, we had 10 to 15 cars a day. Now there are buses and everything. Once you put in paved highway, with Las Vegas next door, you're going to have thousands of cars a day. I think it's sad, because eco-tourism is a big thing for travellers and those sites from the Old West are getting harder to find.'

The working cattle ranch has 164 animal species, including elk, deer, bats and golden eagles. In 1904, it was bought by a notorious gunfighter and cattle rancher called Tap Duncan, who is believed to have ridden with Kid Curry and the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Duncan became one of the best known and respected pioneer cattlemen, running more than 2,000 head of cattle on more than a million acres.

Turner, who is chief executive of Heli USA, denied that he was acting out of spite because of a dispute with the Hualapai six years ago, when the tribe withdrew its permission for his helicopters to land, just as his publicity brochures were being published in Britain.

'People can think that, and the tribe has said that, but it's totally wrong. We've got a very successful business. If there was a road, it would bring millions of people and that would benefit my ranch, but I want it to remain a high-end product. I'm in love with the valley and to say I'm being vindictive is very, very wrong.'

He said he was hopeful a compromise could be worked out: 'We're under a lot of pressure politically. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is trying to help us, making sure the road is fenced and as far away as possible from our guests, behind a hill. That will mitigate a lot of it.'

Grand Canyon Resort, which oversees the tribe's tourist businesses, was unavailable for comment.