Back in April, some of you might remember that the Binational Tourism Alliance (BTA) held a summit in the Adam’s Mark Hotel. The summit centered on discussions of how to eliminate the barriers to cross-border tourism development. The BTA is going to be holding one of the first of several roundtable discussions this summer. The first is tomorrow, May 6th, at the Edgewaters Tap & Grill in Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
The Binational Transportation Roundtable will cover an array of topics with a variety of speakers. Topics planned are on the existing transportation plans, alternative transit methods, the Niagara bike train, signage challenges, border crossing and summer construction, and new legislation that will affect the travel industry. Arlene White, executive director of the BTA, says, “It’s an opening to get the tourism industry more involved with transportation issues.”
The BTA is an organization dedicated to eradicating the barriers to cross-border tourism development in the US/Canada. White says that, “Especially with tourism, if you can’t move people easily around your area, then you aren’t as competitive as other regions.”
The roundtable will feature the following speakers and their topics: John Slobodzian of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation – Niagara-GTA Corridor Project; Hal Morse of the Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council – WNY Transportation Updates; Justin Lafontaine – Toronto-Niagara Bike Train Initiative; Robert Rokoczy of the NFTA – Buffalo & Niagara Falls/NY Airports; and Eric Flora of the Niagara Region – Niagara Transportation Strategy Update.
It begins at 8:30am and runs till 11am and is free to members of the BTA, but otherwise is $20 to partake. The roundtable also features an audience Q&A from 10-11am, allowing for questions to be asked of the wide range of transportation experts available. The address of the Edgewaters Tap & Grill is 6345 Niagara Parkway @ Murray in Niagara Falls, Ontario. You can find more information on this event as well as the BTA at their website.