Tour operator blasts Falls tourism fee
A Toronto tour operator has blasted the city’s Destination Marketing Fee (DMF) in an e-mail forwarded to council members, saying it “damages the image of Niagara as a welcoming tourist destination.”
Jacob Stevens, owner of Tripsetter Inc., is angry that the fee – up to 10% at some hotels – is “unaccountable,” and makes the cost of visiting Niagara more prohibitive.
“By imposing an optional fee, (it) only stains the image of Niagara Falls and heightens the ‘tourist trap’ perception,” he wrote in a recent e-mail. “As a result, this can negatively influence one’s decision to visit or not.”
It reflects many of the same concerns shared on open forums like Trip Advisor, but when Stevens brought it up with a Niagara Falls Tourism member, he was told Trip Advisor is “fake news.”
The e-mail was originally sent to Canadian Niagara Hotels, which owns four hotels in the tourist district along with a number of restaurants and attractions. Stevens said it was “misleading” to mandate a fee he says is optional, and will no longer book clients in the establishments.
“I hope and trust that the Niagara Falls tourism leaders and decision-makers will finally take a stand and correct this damaging issue,” he wrote.
Canadian Niagara Hotels did not return messages seeking comment for this story.
When reached Friday, Stevens said it was “frustrating ” to arrange trips to Niagara Falls for clients while feeling continually gouged by the fee, which is charged by several hotels, restaurants and even coffee shops in the tourism district.
When told the fee was “mandatory” at one restaurant - despite it not being a tax - he decided to go elsewhere.
“I have other choices. There’s a plethora of places to choose from that don’t charge it, so why do I have to charge my clients even more when it’s unnecessary? It’s already expensive.
“It’s already perceived as a tourist trap…so why make it even more bitter for a person to visit Niagara Falls?”
The province’s Ministry of Tourism introduced the DMF in 2004 as a voluntary fee - in the range of 3% businesses can add to bills to support regional tourism marketing and development. It was encouraged to go towards a third party group or agency which will disperse the funds, which cities like Ottawa and Toronto do.
Niagara Falls does not. Each business which charges the fee retains it and spends it as they see fit.
Adding to the confusion for visitors, the fee is called many different names (TIFF, DMDF, PF, etc.) and each business charges a different rate.
It has become a source of anger for tourists and locals alike, prompting CBC’s Marketplace program to do three scathing segments on it, most recently in February.
City councillor Kim Craitor was dismayed by the e-mail, adding he has “consistently been opposed” to the DMF. But because it’s a provincial initiative, council cannot do anything about it.
He says one way to make a point would be for council to eliminate its yearly $600,000 pledge to Niagara Falls Tourism, forcing the group to seek the money from DMF funds instead. But he doubts council, with two prominent tourism figures, would approve such a motion.
“The most important thing is the image it’s creating out there,” he says. “But they don’t worry back here. There’s no reaction, politically.”
Tourism operators insist the fee pays for special events, infrastructure, lighting on the falls and fireworks. But without transparency, no one can say for certain how much is actually spent on tourism and how much is kept by business owners.
“The fees are increasing uncontrollably and without merit,” says Stevens. “And it’s unclear to the consumer.
“Niagara Falls is such a sweet place. Why do they have to turn it into a bitter place with such a minor and insignificant thing?”
It appeared some clarity was coming to the DMF when the provincial budget was announced in April. It introduced a new hotel tax which municipalities could impose, requiring the revenue be shared with the “appropriate” not-for-profit tourism organization in an amount equalling the total generated by an existing DMF program.
But because the DMF doesn’t go to a tourism organization in Niagara Falls, and there’s no way of knowing how much is generated, Niagara Falls mayor Jim Diodati was unsure what the tax would mean for the city, or whether it would replace the DMF.
Three months later, there have been “zero updates from the province” on it, he says.