From the Washington Examiner:
Deliberations in Canada over the future of the Maid of the Mist sightseeing boats at Niagara Falls are being closely watched in the United States, where elected and tourism officials want to avoid disruptions to an iconic draw that brings millions of tourists to the Falls each year.
The double-decker boats ferry people from both sides of the Niagara River to the base of the Horseshoe Falls under separate agreements with New York state and Ontario, Canada. The tours have run continuously since 1846.
The Niagara Parks Commission, an arm of the Ontario government that controls the land and buildings around the Canadian falls, approved a 25-year contract with the Maid of the Mist Steamship Co. in 2008. But the lack of competition for the deal drew criticism, so the commission called for bids from competing boat tour operators for the first time.
The multimillion-dollar bids are under review; the commission is expected to make its recommendation to Ontario’s tourism minister in February, though at one point it had anticipated choosing a company by the end of last year.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/entertainment/travel/2012/01/future-cloudy-falls-favorite-maid-mist/2147516?utm_source=feedburnerdcexaminer%2Fwheels&utm_medium=feedWheels&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dcexaminer%2Fwheels+%28Wheels%29%24%7Bdistribu&utm_content=%24%7BdistributionCha#ixzz1kx3vjMZd
“As you make decisions on continuing the current contract or beginning work with a new company, I want to stress that you make every effort to maintain U.S. jobs and uphold the quality of service,” Gillibrand wrote in a letter to Thomson.
I loved that part! Like the big American companies give a fiddlers f*rt about Canadian jobs when they close plants here. If the MOTM doesn’t get the contract, and has to vacate their docks on this side, I think it’s a big ‘Oh well’!!
Although I’m not really against MOTM getting the new contract, I’m almost looking forward to seeing what happens if they don’t.