Niagara tourism raking in revenue, visitors
Business First of Buffalo - 2:21 PM EDT Friday, March 30, 2007by James FinkBusiness First
http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffa...l?surround=lfn

Tourism in Niagara County is worth big bucks.

Make that very big bucks.

In a report issued Friday morning to its stakeholders, the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp. reported that the county's tourism industry accounts for slightly more than $400 million -- the amount visitors spent there in 2005.

The study was conducted by Oxford Economics, which did a similar undertaking for Erie County. The Niagara study found that visitors spent between $386 million and $401 million on lodging, food, beverage, retail and transportation expenditures in 2005.

Hotel revenues rose 7.4 percent between 2004 and 2005 with total revenues topping $51.5 million.

"It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that tourism is a major industry in Western New York," said Niagara Falls Mayor Vincenzo Anello.

Anello said the survey's number drive home the point that tourism is a major economic development engine in the region. Yet, even with the world famous waterfalls on his doorstep, Anello said efforts to drive home that point is often times lost on local leaders.

In Erie County, for instance, the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, is struggling to re-capture all of the $6.5 million in bed tax dollars generated in the county. The CVB receives just $2.7 million of that pool with $1 million allocated for the operations of the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.

"It's very difficult to explain to tourists what we have here when our people don't even understand it," Anello said.

Tourism in Niagara County generated $25.8 million in local taxes and another $19 million in state taxes. In Niagara County, it is estimated that 7,917 people worked in the tourism industry in 2005.

The survey also found that 4.5 million visited Niagara Falls, N.Y. in 2005.

"Tourism is truly the economic engine in this city," said John Percy, NTCC president and CEO. "Now, we have true numbers to work off of. Everything has been validated."

MANY OF THOSE 4.5 MILLION ARRIVE BY USING THE BUFFALO NIAGARA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, OR ARRIVE VIA BUFFALO RAIL STATION, OR ARRIVE VIA BUFFALO I-90.....ONE WOULD THINK THAT BUFFALO WOULD WANT TO ENCOURAGE MORE OF THOSE 4.5 MILLION VISITORS TO SPEND SOME OF THEIR TIME AND MONEY IN BUFFALO BY ARRANGING A FAST, INEXPENSIVE AND CONVENIENT ABILITY TO COMMUTE.

PS, THE BEST WAY TO COMPETE WITH AMENITIES IN NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO IS TO JOIN AMENITIES IN NIAGARA FALLS, NY WITH BUFFALO. BUFFALO HAS THE TRANSPORTATION, BUSINESS, SPORTS, HISTORY, LAKEFRONT, MUSEUM AND CULTURE THAT ONTARIO HAS NO HOPE OF COMPETING.