BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The continued closure of the border for Canadian travelers into the United States is still affecting the Western New York economy.
Dottie Gallagher, the President and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, said the loss of Canadian travelers has affected the economy by over $1 billion. This includes the loss of hotels and their patronage at restaurants, retail, and even sporting events like the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres.
"It's been mitigated somewhat by the fact that in the tourism sector...a lot more people have come from within the state to travel," Gallagher said. "That has taken some of the sting out."
Tourism, though, has not been as severely impacted by the loss of Canadian travelers.
"In terms of general admission, we're seeing increased attendance from what we would have seen in 2019," Gary Siddall, President and CEO of the Aquarium of Niagara, said. "We're seeing a real uptick in visitation to the facility this summer. I think the pandemic has been full of surprises all the way around. I've learned not to be surprised by new information coming in. We're seeing a lot of the Western New York community being re-acquainted with the Aquarium of Niagara. We've obviously gone through a lot of changes over the last several years and we have worked hard to deliver a much better and much more improved product than you may have seen in the past."
Aside from Western New Yorkers, Siddall said there are people making day trips to the Aquarium from places like New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and from across parts of the state. Still, he wonders how high their numbers could be if Canadian travelers could come across the border.
Another popular tourist attraction, Rainbow Air, told WBEN the border situation has not affected their businesses because they sold out every day this weekend.
The United States land border will remain closed to non-essential Canadian travel until at least August 21. President Joe Biden has been criticized for not allowing Canadian travelers to enter the country. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the US government has been laggard.
"I think there is no reason why we can't open the border to Canadians for the rest of the summer season," Schumer said. "We depend on Canadians for tourism dollars and commerce and everything else. I've been on the phone with the White House, with the Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken, and with the Secretary of Homeland Security (Alejandro) Mayorkas, urging them to do just that."
