Niagara Falls aquarium plan sunk?

From the Niagara Falls Review:

Plans to build an aquarium in Niagara Falls appear to be a casualty of tougher American travel regulations, now that Ripley Entertainment is gearing up to build one at the base of Toronto’s CN Tower.

Canada Lands Company, which owns the CN Tower, picked Ripley last year as its partner to develop three acres of unused property near the base of Canada’s tallest building.

Ripley had plans for years to build an aquarium near Great Wolf Lodge, a resort also owned by Florida-based Ripley Entertainment, the company famous for its Believe it Or Not attractions. But in 2007, the company shelved those plans.

That’s when tourism operators got nervous about the effect the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative would have on the number of Americans visiting Canada. That rule requiring American citizens and foreigners to show a passport or other secure document when entering the U.S., came into effect in 2009.

“The one at Great Wolf Lodge has been put on hold for right now. It’s still on hold. It’s still on hold for exactly the same reasons,” said Ripley spokesman Tim O’Brien.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.