Archive for June, 2009
This morning I decided to get up early and head for Niagara-on-the-Lake. It looked like the rain was over and the town would still be asleep. After all, it was before 7 that I arrived.
It’s was just before 7 when I took this picture of the Prince of Wales Hotel on Queen Street in the Old Town. You can see the rain still on the streets, but it is such a beautiful hotel no matter the weather.
12 million are expected to cross at Niagara Falls into Canada this year.
That’s 12,000,000, or six zero’s, and that’s a WOW!
Yes, in 2009 12,000,000 people are expected to visit coming over the bridges along the Niagara River.
I recently read an article that provided a lot of infor about the longest undefended border in the world, the Canada/US border.
The Canada/US border is 5,525 miles which includes the Alaska/Canada border. 13 states border Canada.
Anyway, forget all this border stuff and just come and visit. I’ll be happy to show you around.
I am often asked where these people that go on tours (my tours) stay while in Niagara Falls.
Although there are dozens of hotels, inns and motels as well as bed and breakfast units throughout Niagara, it’s amazing how many stay at the ‘ol’ standby’ hotels of Niagara.
The Sheraton On The Falls seems to be a favourite. This 19 story hotel features a great dining room overlooking the falls. Food is good and of course it is buffet style so you can eat as much as you want.
Above the Falls there are a myriad of established, large hotels ranging from the Hilton (Canada’s tallest hotel) to the Best Western that has been here fore many years.
To learn more about the local hotels, check out my Niagara Hotels page. I keep adding to it so you can get a good overview of what is available.
NOT!
But those that count feet on the ground, the number of visitors to Niagara Falls Canada is down.
For International tourists, Britain, Australia, Japan, China, Germany, etc, we seem to be doing quite well. For a guide, such as myself, I could keep a full day every day if I chose to do so.
It seems to be the American tourists that have reduced their visits. Traffic is down around 10% over the international bridges. The number of American visitors coming to Canada since 2002 has declined by 43%, down to 24 million.
Here’s more about why the American tourists seem to be declining.
I’ve talked about the Niagara Helicopter rides at Niagara Falls Canada, so I thought I should tell you about the U.S. version from Rainbow Air.
Their service and pad is located at 454 Main Street in Niagara Falls, NY. It’s just before you enter the Rainbow Bridge entrance on the U.S. side of the bridge.
They are open daily from 9 until dusk and provide night flights to see the lights on the falls after dark. Check them out, and click on the picture to see a larger picture that I took a few days ago as one of their helicopters flew over Niagara Falls.
