Buffalo-Niagara Falls ranked in top 20 for overseas visitors to U.S.

Region breaks into U.S. Department of Commerce's list

For the first time ever, the Buffalo Niagara region is one of the top 20 U.S. destinations for overseas visitors.

This month, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Travel and Tourism Industries released its "Overseas Visitation Estimates for U.S. States, Cities, and Census Regions" report for 2011. The report estimates that the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro statistical area received 335,000 visitors from outside the U.S., Canada and Mexico in 2011, making it the 20th ranked metro area in the U.S.

The full report can be found online at http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/outreachpages/download_data_table/2011_States_and_Cities.pdf. Click here for the top 20 list (PDF).

"We are pleased to receive confirmation that our worldwide sales efforts have paid off. From Niagara Falls State Park, to the historic Erie Canal and Old Fort Niagara, all of our attractions are impacted by this in-bound audience," said NTCC President and CEO John Percy. "Being a top 20 location is evidence that the iconic brand of Niagara Falls USA and this region as a whole is a place travelers want to visit - from all corners of the globe."

"This report confirms that Buffalo Niagara's tourism assets - world-class art, culture, architecture, nature and history - are drawing the attention of overseas travelers more than ever," said Visit Buffalo Niagara President and CEO Dottie Gallagher-Cohen. "In the past six months, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery has been the primary destination for visitors from Switzerland, Germany, England, Scotland, Spain, Japan, Belgium, Korea and France. Over the course of the last year, Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin Martin House welcomed visitors from 30 countries, arriving from as far away as Denmark, Brazil and Singapore. If you thumb through the guest book at the Roycroft Campus, you'll find names from France, China, Ireland and Germany - just since April."

About

Visit Buffalo Niagara sells and markets Western New York assets and attractions to visitors outside of the Buffalo Niagara region as a convention, tourism and leisure destination for the economic benefit of the community.

The mission of the Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation is to expand the economic prosperity of the Niagara USA communities by generating individual and group visitation.