Early in 2002, the Reporter editorialized in favor of merging the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau with the county's tourism agency. We felt at the time, and still do now, that a single entity could best handle the marketing of the Niagara Falls area to the world.
At the time, we were told that the funding for the new organization would come from a combination of bed-tax money generated in Niagara Falls, money the county saved by eliminating its tourism agency and a 50-cent surcharge tacked on to the elevators serving the Maid of the Mist boat ride, which the state had just spent tens of millions of dollars refurbishing and expanding.
It sounded good to us.
The newly formed Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation got off to a promising start, hiring David Rosenwasser, a well-spoken tourism professional from Green Bay, Wis., as its executive director. Rosenwasser said he needed an annual budget of $3 million to do the job right, the same amount recommended by a consultant hired by the state prior to the NTCC's formation.
Again, $3 million sounded good to us. It was pretty close to what the CVB and the county tourism agency were spending prior to their dissolution.
Then came the rub. Somebody in power at the state level decided the 50-cent surcharge on the Maid of the Mist elevators wasn't a good thing. Over at the county Legislature, they decided they weren't going to contribute two cents to the NTCC, despite Rosenwasser's request, despite the fact that most of the promotion would be geared toward secondary area attractions like North Tonawanda's Canalfest, the Lockport Caves and the fishing in Olcott -- and also despite the fact that the chairman of the Legislature, Sean O'Connor, makes his living in the tourism industry here in the Falls.
No, the new idea is that 100 percent of the money, all $3 million, will come out of the pockets of the taxpayers of the city of Niagara Falls. That's around $1 million in bed-tax revenue and another $2 million from the local share of the Seneca Niagara Casino proceeds.
We find this completely unacceptable.
The city is willing to do its part, but the county and the state -- both of which derive substantial revenue from the tourism business here -- need to pony up as well.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | December 2 2003 |