Published: July 26, 2009 12:27 am      

MARREN: The wonderless Niagara Falls

What can you get for $199?

Well, you can probably go for a really nice dinner with your loved one or your whole family of loved ones for nearly $200.

You could spend a night an a pretty nice hotel.

You could get groceries for a week or two.

You could get a cool cell phone or digital camera or iPod.

Do you know what Niagara Falls could have gotten? A chance at being considered one of the new seven natural wonders of the world.

You’ve probably heard by now that Niagara Falls, N.Y. passed on the opportunity to participate in an online contest that would have let visitors choose the new seven wonders of the world because they thought the contest was pay to play. They were right, it was pay to play, but it was $199. That’s it.

According to a spokesperson for the contest, sponsors normally handle any costs beyond the $199.

“If we are going to do a world tour, which is in the plan, and visit each of the 28 finalists, yes we would expect part of the cost to be covered, and that is easily done usually with sponsors,” Tia Viering said. “We get lots of calls, companies interested in a place to support their local nominee. This is kind of a no-brainer. Every single site out there is marketing itself anyway.”

But is it? Is Niagara Falls really marketing the Falls?

The most I’ve ever seen as far as marketing is concerned when I travel a few hours north, south, east and west are handouts at rest stops. There, along a random wall, are dozens and dozens of pamphlets for everything from Hershey, Pa., to the Finger Lakes to the Falls.

There’s also those scary looking “Niagara Falls tourist information” spots along Niagara Falls Boulevard and sporadically spotting other parts of the state. These sites don’t exactly scream “come to our attraction.”

So why not take a chance, drop just under $200 and get in the contest. You don’t even need the late Billy Mays to make this sale. Act now!

As per usual, the Canadian side of the Falls was ready to roll with a campaign to be one of the new seven wonders, but officials running the contest said they’d need U.S. participation as well. That wasn’t happening, apparently.

Their answers and criticism of the contest were so smug, too.

John Percy, who leads the Niagara Falls tourism bureau, told The Associated Press that Niagara Falls doesn’t need a poll to get attention as a natural wonder.

“We have a brand that stands out on its own,” he said.

It does stand out, but the question everyone always asks is why it stands out so much better in Canada.

New 7 Wonders’ research has found that participating in one of its campaigns, like one that determined the seven manmade wonders in 2007, can generate about $5 billion in tourism revenue for the sites themselves. That’s billion with a B.

As politicians like to say around here, “Even if we get half of that, and aim low, we’d be happy.”

I’m not a financial adviser, but I think it’s safe to say that if $199 could have led to even $1 million in tourism revenue, that would be a good return on their investment. Not so much, this time around.

But as usual, Niagara falls, and falls, and falls.

Tim Marren is the managing editor of the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal. Contact him at Tim.Marren@lockport

journal.com or 439-9222.