NTCC’s numbers are highly questionable to say the least

These, and other local hotels pay so that Percy, the Mayor and the Council can play. (Top to Bottom): Days Inn, Knights Inn and Passport Inn.

New $2.4 million taxpayer funded fancy office space and so-called “official visitor center” for the NTCC, a do-little private corporation that scarfs up most of the cities bed tax money. The information center is actually misleading. The NTCC staffs it with tour salesmen who pitch and sell unwary tourists, bus tours for a nifty profit.

How the NTCC proves its helping the city – to spend tax money! 

When you read this you will be amazed how Niagara Falls is either led by people so stupid they do not know the first thing about business, or they are glad to wash the faces of each other – with your money as soap. 

Since 2004, the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation (NTCC) has gotten $8,845,528 in bed tax money. They also received, when casino money was pouring in to aid city leaders spend like drunken sailors, another $5,354,280 in casino revenue. 

That means the NTCC has gotten more than $14 million of city money. 
With virtually no questions asked. 

They are supposed to bring us a return on investment of $15 for every $1 we give them. 

Every three months they make a report where they tell the city how much they did for their million-plus per year. Here is how they calculate it: 

In 2010, for example, they show that 1,004,295 people either visited their website or called their phone. About 90 percent are visitors to their website.

With no proof whatsoever, the NTCC reported to the city that 46 percent of these people who visited their web page or called came to Niagara Falls. They were “converted” by NTCC. 

A person calls for information or visits their website and 46 percent are presumed (estimated) to come to Niagara Falls because of that. 

There is no analysis that these people actually came to Niagara Falls. They do not track all the people who visit their website, they just assume that if they visited the website, 46 percent were convinced, “converted” and came to the falls. Just because of a website. 

Some of them, true, probably did come to the falls. But there is no analysis as to whether these people who visited the website weren’t already planning to come to Niagara Falls anyway and visited the website merely to find out, for example, the hours of operation of Maid of the Mist. 

But that is not how they figure it. 
NTCC figures that 46 percent of anyone who happens to wander on their website decided to go to Niagara Falls just because of the website. 
And that is how they justify their one million plus dollars every year. 

For having a website and answering phone calls. 
But it gets worse. 

Going back to the 1,004,295 (so-called people who went on their website or made a call) at 46 percent, the NTCC put in their nonsensical report that 461,976 people came to Niagara Falls - because of their website! And not only that, these nearly one half million people spent on average $445 each. 

It means that the NTCC takes credit for $205 million brought into the city because of its efforts. 

So what do they tell our foolish city leaders: At $205 million, you got $84 spent here for every dollar you gave NTCC in bed tax. That is more than five times higher than what the NTCC was supposed to bring in, which was $15 for every dollar the city gave them. 

Can anyone else be that stupid?

Based on other indicators the NTCC does very little. 

They book fewer hotel rooms than private tour companies like L and L and Paradise Tours. They sold 1,495 bus tours last year, it is true, at their information center, but that is abou ten percent of what private companies like Niagara Majestic and Cataract Tours sell per year without public funding.
 
And remember, the NTCC charges 15 percent to these companies for the service. They do not do any favors for their hotel bookings either which are feeble indeed. They show a mere  6,321 room nights booked each year and here is insult added to injury:  After collecting 80 percent of bed tax  hotels pay the city, the NTCC charges the hotels an additional 10 percent  if  someone comes to their website and happens to book a room.

As further proof that their website converts very few and their claim of 461,975 people “converted” by their website coming to Niagara Falls is  the fact that, if nearly half a million were converted, how come only 6,000 booked rooms the entire year?