From the Niagara Falls Review:
The Niagara Parks Commission is giving ‘top secret’ status to the proposals submitted for one of the most important business deals the agency will make. Bids to run boat tours on the Niagara River are under lock and key and being evaluated at a secret location by a team whose identities aren’t being released, said chairwoman Fay Booker.
“They are moving along as anticipated. They are on schedule. They have not encountered any specific problems,” Booker told The Niagara Falls Review.
Picking a company to run boat tours on the Niagara River — a move that could lead to a replacement for the famous Maid of the Mist — has been one of the most scrutinized decisions the government agency has ever faced.
It’s all very secret except, the Niagara Falls Reporter, that little weekly newspaper in Niagara Falls, NY, that was instrumental in disclosing the inner workings of the NPC/MOTM deal in the first place, is reporting who the bidders are when nobody else seems to know:
– James Glynn (present operator of Maid of the Mist)
– Ripley Entertainment. Operator of museums and other entertainment venues, Ripley’s is owned by Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison.
– Hornblower Cruises. They operate the first and third most popular boat tour attractions in North America, the Statue of Liberty and Alcatraz Island boat tours. If Hornblower wins, they will operate all three top boat tours on this continent.
– Tower Tours in partnership with Blue and Gold Fleet. Blue and Gold runs ferries from California municipalities to San Francisco, and operated the Alcatraz Island boat tours for 10 years. Tower Tours, a bus tour operator in San Francisco, is owned by Hagen Choi, who owns the master lease for Fisherman’s Wharf.
– Alcatraz Media, perhaps the largest online tourism ticket seller in the world.
– Hotelier Dino A. DiCienzo and an unknown boat tour company, possibly Whirlpool Jetboats. DiCienzo is the owner of Canadian Niagara Hotels.
– Mariposa Cruises. A well-known boat and dinner cruise line that operates out of Toronto.
The whole article is here:
http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/cover2.22.11.html
Yes, I had posted that article before…