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Niagara Falls Mayor Not Expecting Large Influx of American Tourists Right Away

Photo Credit: Mayor Jim Diodati Twitter

Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati says the re-opening of the border to fully vaccinated American tourists is good news for the region.

We spoke to Diodati, who says while he doesn't see a large influx of tourists right away, the re-opening of the border is great news for local businesses. 

"For us, it's a little bit of a boom, because Canadians will spend their leisure dollars here, and Americans will be able to bring their leisure dollars here as well."

Diodati notes that before the pandemic, the area saw 14 million visitors annually, with about a quarter of that coming in from the United States. 

The mayor says right now, he thinks most of those crossing the land border will do so to check on their properties or reunite with their families. 

"It'll be a nice chance for families to come together once again. Many of them haven't seen each other in a year and a half to two years. Many of them have missed funerals, they've missed weddings, all sorts of important things."

He also spoke about the mounting pressure on President Joe Biden to open the border to double-dosed Canadians, saying he thinks there could be an announcement within the next couple of weeks. 

The full interview is available below. 
 

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