Niagara Falls expects impacts to visitors, finances from ‘Vegas-style’ casino opening in Toronto – Hamilton | 24CA News
City officers from Niagara Falls, Ont. anticipate to see affect in foot visitors and funds when a $1-billion “Vegas-style” on line casino and resort opens up in west Toronto this summer season.
It’s a actuality the vacationer vacation spot has had 5 years to arrange for, and this yr issues over the anticipated results on brick and mortar venues made it into town’s price range speak.
City CAO Jason Burgess instructed Global News particular numbers related to a possible decline are laborious to pinpoint, however the drop finally will hinder town’s aspirations of bettering an estimated 14 million guests they hope to draw yearly.
“If we get back to 14 or 15 million users, that’s good, but how do we really become a global player?” Burgess stated.
“We ideally want to get to, you know, 20 million or 25 million visitors. What’s going to unlock that?”
Compounding the difficulty is the emergence of on-line gaming additionally anticipated to affect the municipalities enchantment in that sector.
Before the COVID pandemic, Niagara Falls acquired round $20 million a yr through contributions from Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara as a part of an Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) deal.
Going into 2023, it’s estimated town will see about 60 per cent of that cash as venues nonetheless recuperate from the consequences of COVID on tourism.
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Burgess alerted councillors in January throughout a price range presentation that finance workers are cautious with the OLG income suggesting it might by no means a return to 2019 numbers.
“A significant level of play at the Niagara Casinos is from GTA residents. When the new casino is constructed in Toronto, it is anticipated that this will have a material impact,” Mayor Jim Diodati added through the presentation.
City workers say about 40 per cent of tourists that come to the Falls through the summer season season are Ontarians.
The head of the group tagged with selling sights within the metropolis is banking on an upping of selling campaigns throughout the GTA, Quebec and the United States in a restoration effort, boasting Niagara Falls is “much more than casinos.”
Niagara Falls Tourism CEO and president Janice Thomson instructed 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton that trails, biking paths, a 5,000-seat dwell leisure venue, distinctive companies and the Falls itself present a multi-level escape to entice guests.
“So the casinos, of course, are a big part of that but they are part of a broad experience that we offer,” stated Thomson.
Spokespeople for the Niagara Falls casinos, Fallsview and Casino Niagara, haven’t answered direct queries in regards to the results of the “Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto” aside from to recommend they’re “committed” to gaming and tourism inside the Falls.
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Burgess does agree along with his tourism counterpart, suggesting extra worldwide guests into the province and finally to Niagara Falls is essential to restart development.
“This will be a bump in the road, but we need to get on with it,” Burgess stated.
“We need to get Niagara Falls to a destination where there’s more new product that’s attracting more people from outside of Ontario.”
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
