February 2017 | Business View Magazine

170 171 clusters in which we should be investing. So, we’ve begun treating tourism systematically as an industry–doing scientific market research, branding, marketing, and thinking about the infrastructure that we need to have here to support the tourism industry.” One major aspect of that infrastructure that the city has been redeveloping is its transpor- tation networks. “A few years back, we com- pleted construction on a new international airport terminal,” says Dyster. “We’re switching over service from a dilapidated, old freight warehouse that, since 1986, has served as our Amtrak station, to a brand new, $43 million international railway station and intermodal transportation center,” he adds. “But the biggest of all these projects is the removal of the Rob- ert Moses Parkway over a large portion of the city’s waterfront.” Robert Moses, after whom the Parkway was named, was a celebrated, albeit often contro- versial, city planner and “master builder” of the mid-20th century. Working mainly in the New industries left and people moved on. Despite the decline of heavy industry, though, the city has managed to sur- vive, thanks largely, to the fact that its ‘secondary niche,’ still existed. About 30 million people visit Niagara Falls each year and those tourists predominantly stay in the City of Niagara Falls, New York, and its sister city across the river, Niagara Falls, Ontario. But, according to Dyster, it’s only been in the 21st cen- tury that the City of Niagara Falls, New York has made a concerted effort to promote that secondary niche of tourism into a leading driver of its local economy. “We used to say tourism was like the crocuses in the spring,” he quips. “When the weather changed, all of a sudden the people would come to look at the Falls. It’s not like we were doing anything to encourage them. Now that’s changing, and in our regional economic development plan that we’ve been operating under for the last several years, tourism is identified as one of three key industry Niagara Falls, NewYork People around the world probably think of Niagara Falls, principally, as a tourist mecca. But, through much of its history – the city was founded in 1892 – Niagara Falls has actually been an industrial city. Paul Dyster niagara falls, NY, mayor