Published: July 08, 2008 08:15 pm            

TOURISM: A happy holiday for state parks

Attendance up 24 percent at Niagara Falls State Park

Despite high gas prices and surveys that showed many people would spend the Independence Day holiday closer to home, attendance in Niagara Falls State Park was up 24 percent from a year ago.

Officials said Tuesday that 227,199 visitors were counted in Prospect Park and on Goat Island, up from the 182,990 in 2007.

Throughout the 17 parks that comprise the Niagara Region, attendance spiked 22 percent over the same period last year.

“With the soaring gas prices and a struggling economy, New York families are looking for close-to-home places to get outside and get away from the daily stresses of life,” said State Parks Commissioner Carol Ash. “We’re happy that state parks provide inexpensive places for so many families to camp, picnic, swim and connect their children to nature.”

The commissioner said that across the state the parks system hosted 1,522,131 patrons over the three-day holiday and 679,996 persons on Independence Day alone. It was the fourth busiest holiday for the parks system in the past 26 years.

Earlier, Angela Berti, the marketing and event coordinator for the regional parks, said the camping sites in the Niagara Region, including Evangola, Four Mile Creek and Golden Hill, were booked solid for the long weekend.

Closer to the falls, Gay Molnar, director of development for the Aquarium of Niagara told the city Tourism Advisory Board Monday night the Whirlpool Street attraction experienced a sharp increase in visitors for the holiday, compared with a year ago.

        

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