A familiar landmark in Fort Frances soon may be finding a new location if a resolution passed by town council at a special meeting Jan. 25 has the desired affect.
And that could have long-term implications for the entire district.
At least, that’s the hope of Coun. Tannis Drysdale, one of the architects of the resolution, which was forwarded for endorsement to the annual general meeting of the Rainy River District Municipal Association on Jan. 29 in Barwick.
The resolution concerns the location of the Ontario Tourist Information Centre, which Coun. Drysdale feels should be moved further east up Church Street because its current location is both confusing and inconvenient to arriving tourists.
The problem, said Coun. Drysdale, began in 2001 when the Canada Customs and Immigration facility was moved from its location on the international bridge to its current site across the street from the information centre.
“Customs was really well placed then [when it was on the bridge],” she explained. “Now, tourists believe they have to return the U.S. to attend the information centre.
“Consequently, attendance has dropped about 60 percent in the last four years—most of it in the first year,” she noted.
The statistics appear to bear that out. Since 1999, the number of visitors crossing into Canada at Fort Frances each year has remained fairly constant at 405,000.
However, during that same period, the number of people visiting the information centre has dropped from 25,994 in 1999 to 10,435 last year.
And that, said Coun. Drysdale, is affecting the tourism industry throughout the district.
“The very purpose of a visitors’ information centre is to market events, attractions, and experiences in order to value-add the visit by tourists,” she stressed.
“We, as a community, have begun to invest in marketing the diversity of experiences available in Sunset Country and it’s not helpful when the Ministry of Tourism cannot be a player,” she added.
The information centre is operated by the Ministry of Tourism, and is the only year-round such facility in Northwestern Ontario. It employs two full-time staff and one part-timer, and usually hires up to four students for the summer season.
Coun. Drysdale said there have been discussions with private investors regarding relocating the information centre, but nothing can be done until the ministry acts.
To that end, she said she’s been to Queen’s Park twice to discuss the matter with ministry officials, but has yet to receive a formal response.
“I can only assume the largest border crossing in Northern Ontario is of little concern to the Ministry of Tourism,” Coun. Drysdale charged.
She said she’s requested another meeting with the ministry at the end of February, but has yet to receive a response.
Her greatest concern is if the attendance at the centre continues to drop, the ministry will reduce it to a seasonal operation, which means it will be run out of the head office in Barrie, Ont.
Coun. Drysdale stressed there definitely is land available for the information centre, and that it wouldn’t cost the government much to make the move because it always could sell the land to cover the slightly higher operating costs at a new site.
The resolution was passed at the RRDMA meeting and forwarded to the Northern Ontario Municipal Association for its support.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
