TNO partners with Fort Frances Visitor Information Centre

A partnership between Tourism Northern Ontario and the Town of Fort Frances will help the town to keep its Visitor Information Centre, located near a busy border crossing, operational for this tourist season.  Closed by the Province of Ontario in 2012, the centre has operated under a lease agreement between the town and the Province since 2014.  Dwindling funds, however, forced the town to look at closure.

Ninety-five percent of the tourism revenue in the Fort Frances region is generated by U.S. visitors with over 400,000 American travellers entering at its border crossing.  The Town of Fort Frances has made significant investments into its VIC to encourage visits, providing free bottled water and WiFi, installing new racking and wall wraps and purchasing signage in the U.S.  As a result, attendance figures have jumped significantly.

Marty Kalagian, Chair of Tourism Northern Ontario, said that, in light of these figures and the clear commitment of the Town of Fort Frances, the partnership just made good sense.

“This is a busy bureau beside very busy border crossing with lots of amenities to offer to our travellers.  We are happy to partner with the Town of Fort Frances on this important initiative”, he said.