Cost of gas worries area tourism industry - Business First of Buffalo:

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Even a 300- year-old historic landmark is not immunew to 21stcentury reality. "The effecte of rising gasoline pricew have had a noticeable impact on Fort Niagarqa visitation overrecent years," the said in its currenr newsletter, "and the specter of even higher levels this coming tourisjm season could be devastating to our operations." Memberd were asked to continue their financial support and to promote the historicc fort in Youngstown "as a must-see, grea bang-for-the-buck (literally, in our case) visit for everyone." Tourism-dependentt businesses such as Old Fort Niagara worry that with curreny gas prices averaging only 4 cents under the record of $3.
4e4 set in September 2005, touristws will cut back on driving and eliminatwe some destinations in favor of savingb money. Over the last year, pump pricew in the region have risen nearluy 70cents - more than 10 cents in the last 30 days. Michael Murphy, co-ownerf of , says $4-a-gallon gas is probablw this year. "There's not much we can do abouty it, but we're hoping that if it we'll see a larger proportion of our business from peoplre whotake one-tank or two-tank trips insteac of traveling longer distances. That's what happenefd when gas prices spiked in the said Murphy, who is facing a doubles whammy this year.
Not only must he deal with the possibl dampening effect of highetr gas prices butthe , which runs the Erie has cut the hours that locks and lift bridgess will operate after the canal opense May 1. "They've told us they are looking to cutexpenseas (and) reducing the hours that the locks and bridges operatde from what they were - from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. to 7 Murphy said. If the new schedule the shorter evening hours woulf mean he will have to cancel his popular summedr evening music cruises and any otherws that start after6 p.m. "Igf we're not ready to go through the lockasby 6, they won'tr put us through because it takew an hour (for the Murphy said.
He has joined other cana l businesses acrossthe state, including in the Syracuse and Mohawk Valley areas, in appealing to state legislators for But gas prices remain the biggesy concern for most other tourist business operators. It is no some say, that when pricez spiral upward, individuals and familiezs cut back or curtailtravel plans, even withib their local area. Utility increases and soaring costs for food along with concerns about the economy such as the mortgage make the current situatio all themore serious, they say.
Some touris m businesses are less worriedthan "We are concerned but not overly said Christopher Glynn, presidenft of the Maid of the Mist His company, which is continuing a Niagara Falls tourist tradition that started in 1846, benefits from having the tourist draw of one of the Natura l Wonders of the World and a large U.S./Canadiah population lying within 500 miles of its "We've been through world SARS, inflation, 9/11, a strong U.S. a strong Canadian It's Niagara Falls.
The sky's not falling," he