Tourism is also the key for the Niagara Region. By the year 2002 tourist spending or capital spending on tourist facilities will support roughly one quarter of all jobs in the region. Direct tourism spending will support 34,000 to 40,000 jobs total.

More specifically, international tourism — including U.S. residents — is the key for Niagara. While only 30 percent of tourism spending in Canada at large is by foreign residents, more than three-quarters of tourism spending in the Niagara Region is by foreigners. With about 56 percent of the total U.S. population within one day’s drive, Niagara is well-positioned to take advantage.

Given all of this, what should be the strategy to take greatest advantage of Niagara’s assets and position? And what more is needed to increase the economic benefit of tourism in the region? The short answer is to broaden and deepen the array of things for tourists to do so that they stay longer and spend more money.

More than four-fifths of all overseas visitors spend the night in Niagara Falls. But only two-fifths of Canadian visitors and slightly more than one-fifth of U.S. visitors stay over. With a broader range of cultural, historical, natural, entertainment and recreational attractions, visitors will have more reasons to stay longer.

To put it a different way, we can create a bi-national tourism region by linking Niagara Falls to a network of attractions, activities and events in Western New York and the Niagara Region of Ontario that will produce a truly comprehensive international tourism experience. This might be done through “home base loop tours” — already popular — to appeal to everyone from history buffs and wine connoisseurs to fishermen, golfers, and theater enthusiasts. What kind of investments, and how much, are needed to meet these markets? Our estimates for the period through 2016 suggest about $2.8 billion could be invested in luxury hotels, resorts, and inns ($1B); urban entertainment centers ($850M); shopping facilities ($300M); eco-tourism and agri-tourism ($275M); sports and recreation tourism ($160M); cultural tourism ($150M); and live entertainment and theaters ($30M).

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