Monthly Archive for February, 2007

Niagara Falls Video: Horseshoe Falls

Published
by
Graham
on February 28, 2007
in Niagara Falls Scenery, Niagara Falls Videos and Niagara Falls Weekly Feature - Videos
. 0 Comments

The video of the week today is a video I filmed yesterday. It is actually 3 small videos that I merged together in one. I was walking along the parkway and took a video near the bottom of Murray Hill, then moved closer to the Horseshoe Falls and took another video. I then went right up to Table Rock and started to take another video. Unfortunately the memory card ran out of room, so the last clip is the shortest. Maybe next week I’ll do the entire video from up close.

View other Niagara Falls Videos…

Niagara Helicopters Honoured as Niagara Falls Tourism Enterprise of the Year

Published
by
Graham
on February 28, 2007
in Niagara Falls Attractions and Niagara Falls News
. 0 Comments

Regular contributor Dan submitted a link to this story from TourismExchange:

Ruedi Hafen, owner and operator of Niagara Helicopters Limited, has been appointed the 2006 Tourism Enterprise Award.

The Niagara Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (NEYA) program announced their decision Friday night at the 2006 Niagara Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Gala Dinner.

Hafen, along with 22 other nominees, vied for awards in seven different categories that focused on honouring Niagara’s entrepreneurs who exemplify hard work, determination, creativity, and resourcefulness.

Hafen says “To be nominated alongside such inspiring individuals is in itself a privilege. I am extremely honoured to be awarded this recognition.” This was not the first award from the NEYA that Hafen has received - last year he took home the 2005 Established Enterprise Award.

Premier sees progress on passport law

Published
by
Graham
on February 28, 2007
in Niagara Falls News
. 3 Comments

From the Niagara Falls Review:

Premier Dalton McGuinty says he and two other Canadian premiers “moved the yardstick forward” this week in their bid to convince Washington to accept high-security drivers’ licences to enter the U.S., instead of passports.

“We know the Americans are going to do something. We’re going to have to do something with them. This seems to be the most sensible way to go about it,” McGuinty told The Review Tuesday.

The Ontario premier, Manitoba’s Gary Doer and New Brunswick’s Shawn Graham have been in the American capital since Monday, holding meetings with governors of 20 states and members of Congress.

They’re trying to convince American lawmakers to postpone the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and to consider alternative documents to a passport.

Fewer U.S. visitors blamed for Parks loss

Published
by
Graham
on February 28, 2007
in Niagara Falls News
. 0 Comments

From the Niagara Falls Review:

A dip in revenue - partly due to fewer American travellers - and a surge in utility costs are responsible for a half-million-dollar loss at the Niagara Parks Commission last year, officials say.

The commission will report an “accounting loss” for its last fiscal year when it files its annual report to the government. Staff are working on the report for the 2005-2006 fiscal year, which covers the 2006 summer tourism season.

Revenue dropped about one per cent while expenses increased by about 5.5 per cent, general manager John Kernahan told The Review.

Since 1999, there has been a steady decline in the number of American tourists, chairman Jim Williams said. Spending by American tourists accounts for about 60 per cent of parks commission revenues, he added.

Niagara Falls Web Sites: FallsAvenue.com

Published
by
Graham
on February 27, 2007
in Niagara Falls Attractions, Niagara Falls Dining, Niagara Falls Hotels and Niagara Falls Web Sites
. 1 Comment

Last week I highlighted the CliftonHill.com. This week I’ll highlight FallsAvenue.com. Similar to the way HOCO Limited has a central web site for all of their properties, Canadian Niagara Hotels does the same thing. They operate the Sheraton on the Falls, Brock Plaza, Hampton Inn, and the Skyline Inn hotels. They also operate the Rainforest Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, and several more restaurants. The web site pulls in information about all of these operations.

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The site does a good job of maintaining all of the operations on one site, but the information that is actually provided is minimal. For instance, if you click on the Restaurants menu, and then on Rainforest Cafe, a page comes up with only a couple of paragraphs of information. There is no address or phone number and no real pictures from inside the restaurant. In fact, I’ve found that the page of information I have about the Rainforest Cafe gets a lot of hits from the search engines because I have more information on it.

The restaurants and attractions sections of the site are the same. However, the site seems to excel when it comes to information about their hotels. There is lots of information about the hotels, the amenities, and even an online reservations system. It is handled by a third party, but they have tried to integrate it into the site.

There is one odd thing about the site that I don’t understand. I think the FallsAvenue.com name/brand is effective, and it is something to promote. However, when you visit that site, the site that actually comes up is NiagaraFallsHotels.com. I’m sure it was done for search engine placement, but it seems short-sighted to me.

Read about other Niagara Falls Web Sites…

Legend of the White Horse

Published
by
Graham
on February 27, 2007
in Niagara Falls Attractions and Niagara Falls Developments
. 4 Comments

Last week as I was going down Clifton Hill I noticed that they had taken down one of the signs at the MGM Studios Plaza (run by the Falls Avenue people). It was for their roller coast simulator (moving theatre). There is a new show called Legend of the White Horse. I wonder if they are capitalizing on the Avaia success…

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Falls Avenue Newsletter #7

Published
by
Graham
on February 27, 2007
in Niagara Falls Hotels
. 0 Comments

On Saturday I received the latest issue of the Falls Avenue Newsletter. They are highlighting several of their package plans again, along with a contest (this is popular these days) and information about not needing a passport:

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To subscribe, visit their “Spin to Win” page and fill out the form. Be sure to check that you’d “like to receive news on Niagara Falls discounts and seasonal special eMail”.

Niagara Falls Question: When did you first come to Niagara Falls?

Published
by
Graham
on February 26, 2007
in Niagara Falls Weekly Feature - Questions
. 12 Comments

Every Monday I have a question of the week. This week, the question is:

When did you first come to Niagara Falls?

This is a chance for you to reminisce about your first trip to the Falls. How old were you? What do you remember about the trip? How much did you pay for things? You get the picture…

Visit previous questions of the week…

Clifton Hill Resorts Update - Mid February 2007

Published
by
Graham
on February 26, 2007
in Niagara Falls Hotels
. 0 Comments

On Tuesday I received the latest issue of the Clifton Hill Resorts Update. They are promoting a contest, various packages including things to do during the March Break.

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As always, you can subscribe to the Clifton Hill Resorts Update newsletter by visiting the Clifton Hill Newsletter page.

Better chance U.S. will accept passport option: Premier

Published
by
Graham
on February 26, 2007
in Niagara Falls News
. 0 Comments

From the Niagara Falls Review:

There’s a growing chance U.S. officials will accept alternatives to passports, Ontario’s Dalton McGuinty insisted Sunday as he kicked off a lobbying mission with two other provincial premiers to try and have the security measure delayed.

“I think there’s a bit of a door opening here.” said McGuinty, who wants to substitute a new high-security driver’s licence the province is developing.

“I think we’re making real progress.”

McGuinty noted U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff recently said he’ll consider licences if they meet certain standards.