From the Niagara Falls Review:
If the province wants to help tourism in Niagara, it needs to create a good business environment and limit regulations to key items so owners are not overburdened, advises Harry Oakes of HOCO Entertainment and Resorts, which operates a number of businesses in the Clifton Hill area.
“Create a good climate, and then try to get every business to improve,” said Oakes, noting some issues – such as the depressed world economy and border issues – are beyond Ontario’s control.
A business can only do so much to attract more visitors to its attraction, Oakes said. First, visitors need to get here and there is a public perception that crossing the border will be difficult.
“The border has gone from being a toll booth to a barrier,” said Oakes.
“The perception out there is that it’s a challenge to get across the border and most people think you need a passport now, and you will definitely need a passport in June.”
The vast majority of Americans still do not have passports, he added, so if the government can do one thing to help businesses in the tourism sector, it should deal with that issue.
“If they could tackle that at the provincial and federal level, that would be great. And then just get out of our way and let us get on with it.”
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Tags: Attractions, border, economy, harry oakes, hoco, passports
