 |
COOL STUFF
Here come the gatekeepers
By Stephanie Berberick
 |
|
The Nash House Museum, completed in 2007, is a centerpiece of Buffalo’s African American historic district. Nash House photos by Nancy J. Parisi.
|
Businesses across the Niagara region should get ready for a big boost this month. Of course that goes without saying, because summer is on its way and tourists always flock to the Falls for the awe-inspiring spectacle of our local wonder of the world. But this year a special kind of visitor is also coming to town.
This spring the Niagara region will play host to the African American Travelers Conference (AATC). As they would at most conferences, participants will get together for three days and talk business, but rather than spending all their time inside a generic meeting room, they’ll also tour the area in search of evidence of regional splendor they can bring back to their home communities, inspiring even more tourism in the future.
The conference was born fifteen years ago when members of the tourism industry realized that the African American sector accounts for one of the largest segments of group travel. “While the African American community is only about twelve percent of America, they travel in group pre-packaged tours at a rate twice that of the American public,” explains Charlie Presley, president of the AATC. “We saw a need for representation and [wanted to] bring all of these travel planners together. … We are an organization that has been in group travel for years. [Conference participants] are decision makers [who] lead their groups [in planning trips].”
So what does this mean for the Niagara Falls region? Presley outlines exactly what WNY can expect as a result of the conference, and it looks mighty promising. First of all, the Falls will be seeing anywhere from 350 to 400 delegates from April 20 to 22. Each one of these delegates operates a travel group of about forty additional individuals, and each group takes about nine trips per year.
That’s a lot of numbers—but here’s an even bigger one: Those delegates, combined, purchase about $10 million worth of tours per year. And that’s just the cost of the tours; it does not figure in the money spent in local shops, hotels, eateries, and other local businesses.
“[Travel groups] take cruises, go to dinner theaters; they go around the world,” Presley points out. “After they come to Niagara Falls they might say they want to bring their group back. When you really get down to it, it’s amazing how much business [the AATC] has done.”
That’s exactly why Niagara Falls wanted the AATC to hold their annual get-together here, Presley explains with a bit of a laugh. Obviously, the mere fact that the organization plans to wine and dine and talk the talk in the birthplace of the Niagara Movement is no guarantee that the representatives will bring their groups back for a larger taste of what WNY has to offer. (Including the Nash House Museum in Buffalo, pictured; the former church was one of several local stations of the Underground Railroad.) Presley, however, feels confident that our region will woo participants to return.
“Our goal in Niagara Falls is the same as it is everywhere,” he says. “Our purpose as an organization is to develop an understanding of a new destination.” Presley, who has visited this area before, believes members of the AATC will come to understand our region as a great place that offers a sound investment for their time and their travel dollars.
“I love Niagara Falls. It’s great! What’s not to like about it? Good hospitality, friendly people, good hotels, gaming, and decent air service,” he says.
“It’s just great tourism.”
Spree editorial intern Stephanie Berberick is a senior at Buffalo State College.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Back to the Table of Contents
Back to Top
|
|
|
