Niagara County attracted roughly 6 million domestic visitors in 2008.

On Thursday, representatives from the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp. presented their long-term plans for drawing even more tourists in the coming years.

By targeting specific segments of the available tourism market and through a more aggressive approach to online marketing, NTCC President and Chief Executive Officer John Percy expressed confidence his agency will be successful in growing visitation to the region this year and beyond.

“We want to service every group that’s in town to the best of our ability,” said Percy, who unveiled the agency’s 2010-11 marketing plan during a presentation at the Rapids Theatre on Main Street. “Hopefully, they leave with the most positive experience.”

NTCC formed six years ago following a merger between tourism agencies operated by Niagara County and the City of Niagara Falls. Its operations are supported primarily by hotel taxes and casino revenue from the county, Niagara Falls and the City of Lockport. It is overseen by a board of trustees that includes representatives from each of the participating municipalities, five members of the local hospitality industry and five area businesses.

In recent months, the agency has been criticized for its marketing efforts, with some local officials suggesting it has not done enough to promote the region and the City of Niagara Falls in particular.

Percy presented figures that suggested tourists contributed $739 million to the county’s economy, with $431 million coming from overnight visitors and $208 million being added by those who stayed for just one day.

By following the marketing plan, Percy said he’s confident the agency will be able to generate a minimum economic benefit to the community of $65 million.

“That’s the overall goal of all of those efforts,” Percy said.

As part of its strategy, the agency will target 21 different market segments, including families and “empty-nesters” living within a seven-hour driving distance, recreational boaters, gaming-motivated travelers, hikers and bicyclists, anglers, shoppers from Southern Ontario, motorcoach and trade show customers and International clients. Specific travel packages will be designed to cater to the individual groups. Percy said the agency also will place a greater emphasis on trying to attract newlyweds in an effort to restore the image of Niagara Falls as a “honeymoon capital of the world.”

“We need to put a focus on that and build it up again,” Percy said.

The agency experienced a 20 percent increase in online related bookings, which is one of the reasons it will place a greater emphasis on Internet promotions and marketing, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites. Percy said the agency will also be updating its own Web site on a regular basis in an effort to ensure that it is continuing to reach more customers and satisfy ones it already has.

The six million domestic visitors figure was pulled from a detailed visitor’s report compiled by Toronto-based Longwoods Travel USA. The company analyzed online survey data from approximately 521 trips to Niagara Falls and projected out estimates based on population. According to the company, 43 percent of those 2008 visitors stayed overnight. Of those, 49 percent stayed one night in the area. Close to one-third of the national travelers came from New York state. The study did not account for any international travel. Longwoods has been contracted to analyze 2009 data and make a report by mid-2010.

Percy reported that the region’s hospitality industry fared well during the economic downturn when compared to nationwide averages. According to the agency, local hotel occupancy experienced a 4.6 percent drop compared to the 8.7 percent decline nationally. The average daily rate — the average rental income per occupied room — dropped 1.3 percent countywide. Nationally, the decline was 8.7 percent.

“In a year that was tough for everyone, we fared fairly well,” Percy said.

Percy also discussed elements of the agency’s five-year strategic plan, the details of which were first unveiled late last year. The plan calls for more accountability from staff members and places more emphasis on attracting overnight visitors to the area. It was created following several months of discussion with representatives from the local tourism community and in partnership with OCG International, a consultant that assisted the agency when it was first formed.

The marketing plan is intended to promote more efficiency within the organization as it contains performance indicators that will allow staff and management to measure how well the organization is performing in terms of economic impact, visitor length of stay and hotel occupancy rates. The goal, Percy said, is to provide a 15-to-1 return on investment ratio for every $1 invested by the three sponsoring entities, including the cities of Niagara Falls and Lockport and the county as a whole.

Percy said the NTCC will continue to strive to be fiscally responsible and is committing to spending no more than 25 percent of its annual budget on overhead and administrative costs. Currently, Percy said, administrative spending accounts for 22 percent of the overall budget.

City Councilman Sam Fruscione has been the organization’s most vocal critic. He has consistently chastised the group for what he believes has been a lack of transparency when it comes to providing details on how the agency is spending the dollars it receives. Fruscione, who has been invited in recent months by agency officials to review the books, did not attend Thursday’s session.

NTCC Board Chairman Frank Strangio, whose family runs the Quality Inn Niagara Falls and Antonio’s Banquet and Conference Center on Niagara Falls Boulevard, believes the community has a lot of misconceptions about the agency’s operations and its impact on the local economy. Strangio said the agency has nothing to hide and its finances are available to Fruscione and other city officials. As for the quality of work being done by the organization, Strangio said he believes it is on the right course and should be allowed to do what it was formed to do — bring visitors to the Falls and the surrounding community.

“Tourism is vital to Niagara Falls,” he said. “The only way tourism works is if you market the area and get people to come here.”