Push on to extend Canadians' visits to Buffalo

In the first visible sign of its efforts to encourage more Canadian travelers to spend more time in Buffalo, Visit Buffalo Niagara will be opening a new visitor's information center at Buffalo Niagara International Airport this summer.
The announcement comes as Visit Buffalo Niagara and the Niagara Tourism & Convention Corp. are jointly reviewing a detailed study from Longwoods International that not only offers a detailed impact of Canadian shoppers in the region but also offers a blueprint on how to extend those visits.

At BNIA, nearly 40 percent of its outbound traffic are Canadian travelers — many of whom arrive well before their airplane is due to depart and have 'free time' in the terminal. The new visitors center will be just beyond the TSA security gates and near the Anchor Bar restaurant.

'This about encouraging people to check out different things about Buffalo during their next visit,' said Dottie Gallagher-Cohen, Visit Buffalo Niagara president and chief executive officer.

The Longwoods International study found that 3.1 million Canadians traveled to either Erie or Niagara counties to shop last year, leaving behind a $933 million economic impact — much of that in retail sales.

The study also found that Canadian shoppers continued to come to the Buffalo Niagara region despite a number of obstacles including a fluctuating dollar and border crossing issues. In the period between 2001 and 2009, the value of the Canadian buying power increased 95.77 percent to $38,666 from $19,750.

'You get an awful lot of (Canadian) people coming to the region to go shopping,' said Michael Erdman, Longwoods senior vice president and director of research, who authored the study.

The study took place between Feb. 7 and Feb. 27 of this year.

Of the 3.1 million Canadian shoppers, 1.9 million came for a single day excursion and while 1.2 million stayed overnight. Erdman said the average length of stay for overnighters was 2.3 days.

The typical Canadian shopper was a well-educated female, who was 25 years to 44 years of age and had an average annual income of $75,000 to $150,000.

The malls of choice for the Canadian shoppers including the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls, Walden Galleria and Boulevard Mall. Elmwood Avenue was also another popular but secondary choice.

'These aren't bargain hunters,' Erdman said. 'We got Walmarts too and all sorts of cheap 'dollar' stores. They are coming to Buffalo and Niagara Falls because they are interested in your stores.'