Dear editor:
Anyone running for office in Niagara-on-the-Lake should consider what the town would be like without the people who visit it. Residents value its restaurants, cultural experiences and remarkable range of things to do. Tourism helps make that possible. The visitors who fill a theatre or book a weekend away help sustain amenities that residents enjoy long after those visitors have gone home.
That connection came through clearly in research Abacus Data conducted for the NOTL Tourism Group in July 2024. We surveyed 302 residents and found that 89 per cent described their quality of life as excellent or good. Eighty-two per cent believed Niagara-on-the-Lake could attract a lot of tourists and remain a great place to live.
Residents also recognized what tourism contributes to their own lives. Ninety per cent considered it important to the range and quality of things to do in a town of its size. And 65 per cent agreed that tourism provides infrastructure and amenities that improve residents’ quality of life. That is a substantial majority seeing a benefit that extends beyond the businesses serving visitors.
The economics are straightforward. Restaurants, shops and cultural institutions need customers. Visitors expand the market well beyond the people who live nearby, helping support a range of experiences that a community this size would struggle to sustain on its own.
Take away that demand and we should expect fewer choices. I doubt Niagara-on-the-Lake would be as desirable a place to raise a family or retire without the amenities those visitors help support.
That does not make every concern about tourism unreasonable. Parking and traffic affect people’s daily lives, and residents raised both in our research. Candidates should take those pressures seriously and explain how they would address them. Good management is essential to preserving the relationship between a successful visitor economy and a community people love living in.
There is another lesson here for anyone seeking office. The people who call, write and attend public meetings deserve to be heard. But the volume of those contacts cannot tell us how widely a view is shared. A person who sends 10 emails still has one opinion. Someone who never contacts council has an equal stake in the town’s future.
As a pollster, I spend my working life trying to understand that broader picture. Our research was designed to hear from a cross-section of residents, including people unlikely to organize around an issue or appear before council. Their quieter participation in community life should never mean their views count for less.
Those running for office should keep the findings of our 2024 research in mind as they listen to residents today. Ask broadly. Test assumptions. Make room for people who need to be invited into the conversation, including the businesses and workers who depend on the visitor economy in the community.
Niagara-on-the-Lake’s appeal as a place to live is connected to its success as a place to visit. Protecting the quality of life residents cherish requires understanding what helps make it possible.
David Coletto
Founder and CEO, Abacus Data
Ottawa
