Niagara Falls mayor believes it’ll be huge summer for tourism

The best is yet to come, says Niagara Falls mayor Jim Diodati as city businesses are beginning to see not only the return of Canadian tourists but some of those American folks.

Whereas Statistics Canada recently revealed that tourist spending in the country had hit 86.7 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2023, Diodati remains convinced that his city is pretty close to there already.

“Our numbers are fantastic. We’re up in most areas, and this is going to be a banner year for Niagara Falls,” Diodati told local radio station 101.1 FM.

“People maybe aren’t traveling as far, but they’re lining up to come to Niagara Falls.”

With apps like ArriveCAN off the table post-pandemic, he’s also seeing more incoming American licence plates crossing that Rainbow Bridge.

“Now that they can get into the country with simply their passport, we’re seeing a lot more U.S. receipts, we’re seeing a lot more license plates from all over the United States, and they’re very very excited to be back because their dollar goes so much further, and many of them haven’t been here in several years,” he told the radio station.

The only hold-up at the moment, he said, is the full-scale return of international visitors. Stats-Can backed up his assertion but also offered one very positive note.

The government body says while overnight travel by international visitors declined by 0.4 per cent in the first quarter, it was offset as same-day travel to Canada by non-Canadians increased by a staggering 10.5 per cent.

Since the tourism industry is connected to the livelihood of over 40,000 Niagara Falls residents, there was more good news as jobs related to the field also saw increases. Stats-Can said jobs connected to tourism rose 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, following an increase of 1.4 per cent in the previous quarter.