When you go to school in Buffalo, it’s easy to forget how close one of the seven natural wonders of the world is. Niagara Falls–situated in America’s oldest state park–has served as one of the largest tourist attractions for years, drawing an estimated 20 million people in 2008.

Yesterday I was reminded what it’s like to visit the falls for the first time.  Assisting with a research assignment administered by the School of Architecture & Planning, my task was to survey visitors on the American side of Niagara Falls.  The intention of the five-minute survey, in a nutshell, was to find out where visitors were coming from, how long they were staying in the area, and how much money they were planning to spend.

The visitor profiles would help planners and policy-makers in the City of Niagara Falls to get a better sense of what influences people to visit the falls and spend money.  Tourist dollars are not only important in preserving the park but they also contribute to the local economy.

While many people were reluctant to take a survey as they were busy sightseeing, I did get into great conversations with several people during my time there.

Almost every person I interviewed was from another state or another country and they planned to stay for just one or two nights in the area.

When asked about their spending patterns, most people were surprised to find how cheap the hotels were, seeing as how they’re situated next to one of the largest tourist attractions in the world.  They seemed to think that the flight into Buffalo was smooth and that the taxi ride up to Niagara Falls was inexpensive as well.

At first I was shocked to find how much people spent, but realized that I, too, would consider the trip relatively inexpensive if I didn’t live 15 minutes away.

Overall, it was a fun survey to conduct and I met a lot of nice people.  I learned a great deal about visitors and was reminded of what a wonderful place Niagara Falls really is.