U.S. tourism revenue saw a dip for Niagara Parks this spring, but its CEO says that revenue was “more than made up” through other international travellers, particularly coming from the U.K., France, Australia and Poland.
Speaking to Niagara-on-the-Lake council in late June, Niagara Parks CEO David Adames said there was a nine per cent decline in April from U.S. tourists and a five per cent decline in May.
However, he also said that it’s too early to call an overall trend to attention, or whether the last couple of months are an anomaly.
“The information comes from our payment processing program,” Adames said to The Lake Report.
“When customers use their credit card, we get the high-level information … from the origin of their credit card.”
According to Niagara Parks, 42 per cent of spending at Niagara Parks is from Canadians living in Canada, 42 per cent is from the U.S. and 16 per cent is international.
While most of the places Niagara Parks operates are in Niagara Falls, the organization is responsible for a number of natural, heritage and culinary attractions in NOTL, including Queenston Heights and the Queenston Heights Restaurant, the McFarland House and its tea room, the Laura Secord Homstead, the Mackenzie Printery and the Landscape of Nations Memorial.
Adames said that Niagara Parks gets more U.S. and other international tourism revenue than the average tourism operator in Canada.
Given this reality, councillors had questions for Niagara Parks. Coun. Gary Burroughs wondered if a dip in American tourists was due to issues at the border.
“My concern is, ‘Are the borders open and friendly for Americans coming this way?’” he said.
Adames said he believed border crossings were down from Americans coming to Canada but said he had heard “nothing but positives” coming from Americans crossing the border.
Adames said Niagara Parks are most interested in attracting “quality” visitors, namely people who stay overnight and go to a lot of attractions in the area.
Because Niagara Parks said Americans spend about $55 per transaction on average while in Niagara, compared to $34 for Canadians, attracting American visitors is a particular concern for Niagara Parks.
The ultimate goal, however, said Adames during the June 24 meeting, is that an overall rise can make everyone better.
“We would like to see both the U.S. and international numbers coming up,” he said.
The Town of NOTL’s website said the town attracts around 3.5 million visitors per year. The website also said the tourism industry is also the largest employer in the town, employing 3,350 people and generating $648 million of the region’s $2.4 billion worth of tourism revenue.
