Niagara Parks looks to attract more local visitors amid rising fuel prices

With the summer season just around the corner, tourism operators in Niagara Falls say fuel prices will have an impact on their bottom line.

But they’re also counting on the return of more American tourists than last year.

Niagara Parks officials say there was a modest decline in American tourists last year, caused mostly by geopolitical issues, but visitors from Europe and Asia more than made up the difference.

The cherry blossoms and tourists were out in full force in Niagara Falls on Wednesday.

The Niagara tourism industry is counting on them to keep showing up this summer.

“We’re within a day’s drive of over half the population in North America,” says Niagara Parks CEO David Adames. “[We’re] easy to get to, we have four border crossings that touch Niagara Parks, from Fort Erie to Niagara-On-The-Lake and all points in between, so it’s easy to get here.”

Adames says that proximity is an advantage for Niagara Falls, especially with fuel prices going up rapidly.

“There are some pocketbook issues we do need to be monitoring, gas prices being one of them,” says Adames. “The good thing about Niagara Falls and the Niagara Region is it’s available by day trip from so many areas.”

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Adames says last year Niagara Falls only saw a three per cent drop in the number of American tourists. Over that same time he says they saw double the number of tourists from Europe.

“Strong increases from Europe and Asia and we only had a only a modest decrease in our U.S. visitation so we’re thinking that it might come back in a strong way in 2026,” says Adames.

The owner of popular tourist attraction Whirlpool Jet Boats in Queenston says the price of diesel will be hard to navigate this summer.

“As of right now it’s about 30 per cent more than what it was this time last year. We hope it does not go any higher than that,” says John Kinney from Whirlpool Jetboat Tours. “It’s significant. It’s way more than tens of thousands, it ventures into the hundreds of thousands because of the amount of fuel we use.”

That said, he feels that the price of gas may even make Niagara Falls more attractive to visitors who live within a couple hours.

“We think Niagara Falls will always continue to do well as long as that water keeps falling over that cliff up there,” says Kinney.

The head of Niagara Parks says the key to continuing to be a tourist destination is to give people reasons to stick around once they’ve seen the main attraction.

“Last year in August, we opened the brand new Niagara Takes Flight attraction, just five years ago the Niagara Parks Power Station, along with The Tunnel,” says Adames. “Were doing investments in our attractions like the Butterfly Conservatory, the White Water Walk, the aero car and of course now the Journey Behind the Falls as well. So all that goes into creating a great experience that attracts visitors from around the world.”

The official first day of the tourist season for Whirlpool Jet Boats is this Saturday and they have nine boats ready to take visitors for a ride into the Niagara Gorge.

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