Press Releases

BUFFALO NIAGARA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU, ERIE COUNTY, CITY OF BUFFALO AND AREA ATTRACTIONS CELEBRATE NATIONAL TOURISM WEEK

Erie Canal Harbor, Buffalo Zoo’s Rainforest Falls and the Nash House Museum among highlights of the 2008 tourism season

BUFFALO, NY, May 13, 2008 –The Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, the official tourism promotion agency for Erie County, is pleased to lead the local effort to commemorate National Tourism Week (May 10-18) and the start of the 2008 summer tourism season. This occasion is particularly noteworthy this year due to the imminent opening of the Erie Canal Harbor on the city’s waterfront as well as the much-anticipated completion of the M&T Bank Rainforest Falls at the Buffalo Zoo. Other recent additions to our cultural landscape such as the Nash House Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Rowing Boathouse and the soon-to-be-completed Burchfield-Penney Art Center signal Buffalo’s emergence as a cultural and heritage tourism destination of the first rank.

“This community has invested time, energy, capital and passion in creating new attractions that are designed to raise our community’s profile as a visitor destination,” said Richard Geiger, President and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The CVB is grateful to have these wonderful new products to sell and we have every confidence that they will inspire thousands of new visitors to experience Buffalo Niagara and all we have to offer.”

The coming of summer also means street fairs, outdoor concerts and food festivals in a city and region known for making the most of every weekend between May and October. “Whether it’s Irish dancing, Polish sausage, Italian heritage or African American history, there’s always something to celebrate in Buffalo,” Geiger added. “No matter what the season or time of year, Buffalonians are having a party and eager to have visitors join in the fun.”

Buffalo and Erie County have experienced a significant increase in visitors in recent years as Canadian visitors crossed the border in record numbers and new attractions opened their doors.

“Erie County has an abundance of cultural riches and I am convinced they will and must be an integral part of our future,” said County Executive Chris Collins.  “Properly supported and promoted, arts and culture will help drive economic opportunity in our community.  I look forward to working with CVB leadership, its board and Mayor Brown to market and brand Buffalo and Erie County as a cultural destination for visitors throughout the world.”

Part of the commemoration of National Tourism Week included the re-painting of the blue buffalos that have marked the Walk Buffalo self-guided walking tour of downtown Buffalo for many years. Thanks to the City of Buffalo the trail is once again visible to visitors and residents alike.

"The revival of the Walk Buffalo self-guided tours, along with the repainting of the blue buffalo trail markers, is an important part of our ongoing collaborative effort to increase tourism and show off our city's remarkably rich and diverse cultural, architectural and historical assets," said Mayor Byron W. Brown. "National Tourism Week is a great opportunity to highlight these and other activities that are occurring in our city and region that will make visiting tourists more welcome. I commend the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, along with partners like Buffalo Place, Inc., for helping to spearhead this effort."

Media Contacts:

Ed Healy
Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau
716-852-0511, x236
healy@buffalocvb.org

Doug Sitler
Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau
716-852-0511, x252
sitler@buffalocvb.org