<!--Rick Forgione--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Rick Forgione</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:rick.forgione@niagara-gazette.com">rick.forgione@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
The Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp.’s new visitor guide is getting plenty of attention and comments.
The bad news is it’s mostly coming from a group of upset tourism leaders who think several Niagara Falls attractions got the shaft in the 60-page promotion.
“What we wanted was flagship representation, that’s what we’re paying for,” said Jerry Genova, chairman of the city’s tourism advisory board. “Looking at this guide, they don’t deserve a dime from us.”
Approximately 750,000 copies of the “Niagara USA Official 2009-10 visitor guide for Niagara Falls and Niagara County” have been circulated, according to NTCC President John Percy. The guide highlights 100 different attractions in the “Falls, river, lake and canal” regions across the entire county. It also provides area maps, hotels and other tourism-related business listings and dates for various events and activities in the area.
Percy said the majority of guides are distributed within a 350-radius of Niagara County and it serves as the main comprehensive piece to promote the area.
“Our staff works very hard to try and update the guide every year with the latest information,” he said. “It’s not a perfect science, unfortunately. We depend on the community to get updates.”
City Council member Samuel Fruscione sent a letter to Percy on Feb. 17 complaining about the guide’s “poor representation of (the City of Niagara Falls) and what we have to offer the world.” The two are expected to meet March 18 to discuss the matter further.
“It’s really not up to par of what we expect from them,” Fruscione said.
Meanwhile, tourism board members are also speaking out against the guide. Their complaints center around what they feel are significant omissions to an area map of the Falls region, including no marking for the Third Street entertainment district and Pine Avenue’s Little Italy district. Logos are used on the map to alert tourists to food and parking areas, but none of the logos are placed outside of the state park’s property.
Besides the Aquarium of Niagara, no other city attraction outside of the state park is highlighted on the map. There are individual paragraphs for attractions such as the Conference Center Niagara Falls, Seneca Niagara Casino, Daredevil Museum, Hard Rock Cafe, Hyde Park, the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center and others, but the board is upset more information wasn’t provided.
In comparison, attractions outside the city such as Old Fort Niagara, Niagara Wine Trail and the Erie Canal warranted full-page write-ups.
Past tourism guides produced by the NTCC have received similar reviews and complaints. Through a combination of hotel bed tax and casino revenue, Niagara Falls contributes $2.8 million annually to NTCC, nearly 95 percent of the private agency’s overall funding.
That should buy the city some extra attention when it comes to promotions, Genova said.
“Why would you do that to the person giving you the most money?” he said referring to the guide.
Percy said the omissions of the entertainment and Little Italy districts, as well as the food and parking symbols outside of the state park, were a mistake on the part of NTCC and weren’t intentional. However, he said the agency is inviting anyone who wants to add suggestions be involved in the process for next year.
“Do we do everything perfect? No, but we’re willing to take suggestions,” he said. “Maybe there are things we need to clean up and take a harder look at.”
