From the Niagara Falls Review:
A soaring loonie will mean less dollars in the pockets of the city’s tourism industry stakeholders, experts say.
“I’m shaken,” said Anna Pierce, executive director of Niagara Falls Tourism. “Everyone’s worried.”
The Canadian dollar closed at 94.07 cents (U.S.) Tuesday, down 0.41 cents from Monday’s close, and a step away from the 30-year highs of the previous week.
“You can’t plan for this. We can see the dollar creeping up but we have no way of knowing something like this is going to happen.”
Pierce said since the SARS crisis, the organization has focused on attracting more Canadian travellers to the city. But with Canadians getting a better bang for their buck across the border, Pierce fears her target market will head straight to the bridge. “(The low dollar) was always a competitive advantage,” she said. “Now we have to get really creative. We have to work harder. We have to make up that difference.”