Published: November 19, 2009 11:27 am      

CITY FIXER: From Glasgow to Niagara Falls

Eddie Friel will say tell you he’s just an old Irishman. But, he’ll add, quite modestly, “I have a little history caring about places that people have forgotten.”

In fact, the Irishman with courtly ways and lilting brogue, was invited to the Niagara region because of some unusual successes he’s had in forgotten places, luring tourists to god-forsaken cities like a candy man at a kiddy fair.

Friel, some say, almost single-handedly was responsible for the turn-around of Glascow, Scotland, a once beleaguered post-industrial wasteland of a city with a reputation of not much to offer anyone.

And while he might not be the be-all, end-all fixer of sad cities, he could surely vie handily for the title.

Recently, Friel spent a couple of hours at a local coffee spot, sharing the stories that helped to fortify his reputation as a man who knows how to get things fixed.

Come to Northern Ireland

In what could possibly be a great concept for a Saturday Night Live comedy skit, Friel was sent to New York City by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. His mission: To increase tourism numbers for Northern Ireland despite a deadly turf battle between the Catholics and the Protestants.

The obvious question is how does one do that when the place is making headlines around the globe due to car bombs exploding daily on city streets.

Friel somehow convinced a group of travel writers to hold their convention in Northern Ireland. He showed them the beautiful mountains and the glens, and introduced them to the history and the culture of the region. He then shared the positive press clips with tour companies stateside. He was able to double tourism numbers for his effort.

From there Friel found his way to Glasgow, where he was once told that the definition of a tourist in that city was “somebody who was lost.”

He was given a blank sheet of paper on which to write Glasgow’s new history, and he knew he didn’t have time to spare.

“I could not wait until the place was ready, the community needed me to create the circumstances now,” he recalled.

So he set about determining what he could sell about Glascow, which despite its reputation as a place no one wanted to go, still offered great sports, retail, arts and a night life.

Selling Glasgow to Icelanders

He noticed that Iceland Airlines was already servicing the city with direct flights, and he started selling the place to Icelanders.

“My first task was to sell it as if it were Las Vegas,” he said. And so, he did. Except that what happened in Glasgow did not stay in Glasgow.

Within 14 months there were more visitors from Iceland staying longer and spending more than tourists from any other part of the world.

From there, the formula was simple he said, because tourism increased the tax base which allowed the government to fortify the city’s infrastructure and help draw businesses to the area.

When he started in Glasgow there were fewer than 1,200 people employed in the tourism trade. When he left there were 68,000 employed in tourism industries.

And now, Eddie Friel has turned his attention to the Niagara region, as a sort of gift to the community from Niagara University.

Friel first came to Niagara several years ago when he received an honorary degree from the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

“We were looking to see if he was ready to leave Scotland, and he was.” said the Rev. Joseph Levesque, president of the university.

Expert in residence

The school invited Friel to be an expert in residence, at the college. He agreed. He now teaches a couple of classes a semester but his main job to go into the community and see if he can help to fix it.

“We can’t expect him to do superman things,” said Levesque. “If we can get more strong concrete collaboration between himself and others in the Western New York community, that's the ideal ... That's part of our contribution to the area.”

Friel, as one might imagine, has a few thoughts.

First, he’s suggesting that the region do what he did in Glascow and Northern Ireland — identify what they have to sell right this minute and then sell it.

“You cannot wait for the war to be over,” he said referencing Northern Ireland. “You have to be able to find the customer. That’s the challenge for Niagara Falls,” he said.

There are a few points to be considered.

“The solution is going to be within the community itself,” he said.

His first job is to get leaders to work together.

Stop the fighting

“Stop the internal battles,” he advised. “Look at how tourism can be an engine of recovery for Niagara Falls.”

Some of his ideas are based on simple logic, i.e., you have to have a plan.

“What are the economic strategies for the next 10 to 15 years?” he asked. “What are the industries driving the economy for Niagara Falls?”

Friel believes that tourism is the industry that should and could drive the Niagara Falls economy, with its potential of jobs to replace all those lost when the major industries left the city.

The next step is for the government to support the business community. “It is not the role of government to fix the problem,” he explained. “It is the role of government to support the business community because they’re the people that create wealth and jobs.”

String of pearls

It’s really quite simple. “Rebuild the city center. Give the city back it’s heart,” he explained. Then, build outward, restoring street by street like “a string of pearls,” capitalizing on history, arts and culture as you go.

Friel, who has already consulted with Mayor Paul Dyster and met with many other community leaders, likes some of the steps he’s seen so far. He’s thinks the Convention Center, despite it’s outward appearance, is one of the best he’s ever seen inside. He likes the Seneca Niagara Casino and the new event space created since the Wintergarden was torn down. He also likes the movement he sees on Main Street and Third Street. But he, like most everyone else, knows there is a long way to go.

“There are no acceptable excuses,” he said. “If it’s not working either your product is wrong or your marketing is wrong, in which case, find out and fix it.”

And just in case anybody is wondering just how to do that, there’s an expert in residence over at the university. All they have to do is call.

Contact reporter Michele DeLucaat 282-2311, ext. 2263.