Tourism is important

The announcement that the province was closing the provincial tourism information offices in Rainy River, Fort Frances and Kenora has caught everyone by surprise. In the past 12 months the province had expanded their budget to promote fishing and hunting in the Northwest. The money was targeted at major markets through the upper Midwest.
Annually hundreds of thousands of US visitors pass across the International Bridges at Fort Frances and Rainy River to begin their vacations in Northwestern Ontario. Travelers are coming through these points of entry to enjoy fishing, hunting at resorts, lodges, and parks from the border to Kenora, Red Lake, Pickle Lake, Atikokan, Dryden, Sioux Lookout and all points in-between. The Ontario tourism information centres are a valued resource for every community in the region.
One Ontario tourism information site will remain open. That is the Pigeon River crossing at Grand Marais. It only operates during the summer months. One must wonder if the closing of the three information sites in Sarah Campbell’s riding was a more of a political decision than business decision.
The first tourist information site in Fort Frances began through the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce and operated from a building located at Church and Portage. It was only open during the summer months. The operation was taken over by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, which continued to operate the office in the summer months. The province was given ownership of the building.
In the mid 1970’s the province placed a permanent ministry person in the building to work with lodges and outfitters throughout the region. The building that was originally designed for summer use was found wanting and through consultation, the province acquired the property at the corner of Church and Central Avenue and constructed the present Ontario Tourist Information building.
The knowledgeable staff have been able to direct visitors to Ontario and Canada to destinations not only in the region but in Ontario. Maps, Ontario Getaway magazines, locally produced literature, and directions have been freely provided making the experience of being in Ontario easier “to discover”.
It was a unique design that has been copied throughout the province with its bright green roof. The common design was chosen so that visitors could easily identify where they could easily get travel, accommodation and attraction information.
Since the province is vacating the building, perhaps they should turn it over to either the towns of the Northwest, the Chamber or Sunset Country for the same miniscule amount of money that they acquired the first tourist information building.
Although the building is less prominent today than when all visitors were handled on the bridge, the site remains valuable. If the Northwest Region believes that the Ontario Tourist Information Centre at Fort Frances is valuable, then the region should be willing to share the costs of keeping it open. Sunset Country should be playing a lead role to keep the centre open. The Northwestern Tourism Association, Kenora District Campowners Association, the Patricia Tourism Association all have a stake in maintaining this information site.
Tourism is too valuable for the region to just let the office and the services it provides disappear.

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher