I was just watching a Global news piece about how Chicago, Montreal, and Vancouver are kicking TO's butt when it comes to tourism. Then the reporter said something that made me fall off my chair: so far, more people are using the Breeze ferry to travel to Rochester from Toronto than vice versa. I guess Jan Wong's article wasn't enough to convince people to stay away. Maybe it had the opposite effect. I don't imagine people in Rochester feel too good about Toronto thanks to Ms. Wong. With our tourism industry tanking, can we really afford to go around insulting Americans so outspokenly in the media
?

Maybe they are using it to go to New York City. I doubt many are stopping in Rochester.

This doesn't surprise me. Going towards Rochester, you go in the direction of so much.

Going towards Toronto, you go towards, pretty much nothing. Just Toronto itself, which is no big deal.

So the fact that there is more heading to the U.S shouldn't be surprising anyone. I expect when the Port Stanley to Cleveland ferry gets going, you will see similar results.

The dollar's pretty strong right now against the US greenback. That must be a factor. Define "kicking butt" in tourism?

Yeah...I watched that on Global yesterday. It was mostly about Chicago I must of misssed the vancouver and montreal ones. A main reason I heard the tourists say is the Toronto port which really is shitty right now. Jesus christ, even Rochestor has a nicer port than TO...they really need to work on that.

the population difference might have something to do with this aswell...the GTA is a way bigger market than friggin rochester.

I saw that report on Global last night; they should all be sent back to journalism school. One had to pay close attention to garner the "facts" which were spread out in a sea of "opinion" from people they stopped on the street. We all know how much uninformed opinion is worth.

The terminal will be built and for once I agree with their "wait and see" approach. Am I correct that most of the support for this ferry came from south of the border? One of the questions asked on that Global report was "how do we make tourists want to come here". Well, we can't make anyone come here. What we should do is continue to make this city wonderful for people who LIVE here; the tourists will follow...on the ferry or on the bus, or in a car, or on a plane.

Like others that have already said this here, I highly doubt that people taking the ferry are going to Rochester. It is more likely that the traffic that exists is to go elsewhere rather than staying in Rochester.


In addition, I hope that we don't spend money on a port for this ferry. It would be a huge waste of money. Then again, I have been against this project since it was first proposed.

Wow, a quicker way to get from NYC to Toronto.

BTW, how did JCRS get banned?

I'd be interested to hear how he got banned, too.
Glad he was, though.

Why did someone bring up this topic? It's a year old! :)

Last I heard the opposite was true about the ferry, more people coming up here then going down south.

@NewYorker1:

From what I remember JC was a troll that started off with a few normal threads and messages and after a few days he started threads based on racist/bigoted statments, etc. He was given a second chance (that he would not have gotten here today), and did the same thing, starting off well, then resorting to trolling.

It's safe to say, I'm glad he was banned. Good riddance.

It does save some commuters 160 miles rather than going on the QEW to Buffalo and then to the NYS Thruway, so most people who use it to go to Rochester, do use it as a shortcut to NYC, or even maybe to Boston or Pittsburgh.

JesusChrysler got banned because everyone was tired of his ranting and negative thoughts on Toronto. Many seem glad he was banned. :)

The only reason why I would use it is if I was goin to NYC and wanted to save that extra hr of driving. But, its not worth the cost, IMO.

Keep in mind it takes time to get there on the ferry,
so in the end your really only saving an hr ;)

I'm sure there's nothing wrong with a day trip to Rochester. Why not give it a try? I'll do it one day.

I think the economies of scale would have made it obvious more people from the Toronto area would be trying it out.






KGB

the population difference might have something to do with this aswell...the GTA is a way bigger market than friggin rochester.

Thank you, it never occured to me b4. Makes so much sense now! :bash:

Damn that Ms. Wong. Well, it looks like she failed anyways. I can attest, that many people who are visiting from Toronto ARE staying in Rochester. You Torontoan's underestimate it. There is A LOT to do in Rochester, especialy durring the Spring and Summer. You have the Lilac Festival in May, you have the Corn Hill arts festival in July, you have the Park Avenue fest in August. Why can't you all stop hating and actually come and see the place. I think Toronto is a great city and I love visiting there. But Rochester has a lot to do too. Especialy for a history buff. There is also the Strong Museum, rated the best children's museum in North America (if you have kids and want to just let them run loose for the day while still being able to keep an eye on them, take them there, they can interact and have fun with pretty much everything in sight!). Give it a chance. Yes, a lot of people do go on to visit the finger lakes/wine country too. But don't be fooled, they aren't all just "passing Rochester by". As for the btich Ms. Wong...... don't even get me started on her. And no, don't worry, Torontoans aren't the ones paying for the fast ferry, Rochester is. The city owns it completely. I really wish all of the pessimists (In boh Toronto AND Rochester) would just keep their damn mouths shut. If you don't want to ride the ferry, then DON'T. It's your loss. But don't criticize other people for enjoying what the service (and boat itself) have to offer!

Why can't you all stop hating and actually come and see the place.

Mostly because I haven't figured out how to make a day trip out of it without staying overnight.

The ferry makes two round trips. One in the morning, one in the evening. That's how you can take a day trip without spending the night. And why couldn't you spend the night if you had to (which you wouldn't) anyways? People keep whining and complaining without giving the damn thing a chance.

The ferry makes two round trips. One in the morning, one in the evening. That's how you can take a day trip without spending the night. And why couldn't you spend the night if you had to (which you wouldn't) anyways?

You haven't looked at the schedules have you. Find the first trip out of Toronto, then the last trip out of Rochester and figure out how much time you actually have between the two when you add in customs and travel time.

As to staying overnight at a B&B, that's mostly a money issue.

If staying over night at a bed and beakfast cost you too much money, you could stay overnite at a cheap suburban motel. I don't want to sound rude, but it's like you are coming up with excuses. Just give it a try. If it turns out bad, don't do it again.

If staying over night at a bed and beakfast cost you too much money, you could stay overnite at a cheap suburban motel. I don't want to sound rude, but it's like you are coming up with excuses. Just give it a try.

Thanks, but I think I'll wait for the ferry schedules to change in such a way that one can make a day trip out of it. The ferry tickets are expensive enough for a walkabout before you start tacking on the extras.

^^ fair enough

Has anyone EVER seen a CanWest report (Global, National Post, etc) that
has been positive about Toronto? If so, I've sure as heck never seen one.
The owner, in Winnipeg, appears to have a lot of "issues" with Eastern cities,
and in particular Toronto.
I take anything they say with a grain of salt.

Does any other city's media bash its own city.. as much as they do in Toronto? Listening to sports radio in this town.. the hosts not only despise the Toronto's teams, but they make it sound like every other city is so much better. We don't need drum beaters.. but where's the civic pride?

Really.. is anyone proud of Toronto? Is there anything to be pround of?

Just wait till the leaves fall ... :D

^^ Wow, I had no idea. That can't be true.

Does any other city's media bash its own city.. as much as they do in Toronto? Listening to sports radio in this town.. the hosts not only despise the Toronto's teams, but they make it sound like every other city is so much better. We don't need drum beaters.. but where's the civic pride?

Really.. is anyone proud of Toronto? Is there anything to be pround of?
It is totally true... the media see it as politically correct to bitch about
Toronto. The Globe used to be very bad, but I think they realized
they were losing so many sales to the Star that they have been more
positive since the SARS thing. The Post is always furiously negative.
This will only end when Torontonians stand up to these people and
flex a bit of muscle.

Damn that Ms. Wong. Well, it looks like she failed anyways. I can attest, that many people who are visiting from Toronto ARE staying in Rochester. You Torontoan's underestimate it. There is A LOT to do in Rochester, especialy durring the Spring and Summer. You have the Lilac Festival in May, you have the Corn Hill arts festival in July, you have the Park Avenue fest in August. Why can't you all stop hating and actually come and see the place. I think Toronto is a great city and I love visiting there. But Rochester has a lot to do too. Especialy for a history buff. There is also the Strong Museum, rated the best children's museum in North America (if you have kids and want to just let them run loose for the day while still being able to keep an eye on them, take them there, they can interact and have fun with pretty much everything in sight!). Give it a chance. Yes, a lot of people do go on to visit the finger lakes/wine country too. But don't be fooled, they aren't all just "passing Rochester by". As for the btich Ms. Wong...... don't even get me started on her. And no, don't worry, Torontoans aren't the ones paying for the fast ferry, Rochester is. The city owns it completely. I really wish all of the pessimists (In boh Toronto AND Rochester) would just keep their damn mouths shut. If you don't want to ride the ferry, then DON'T. It's your loss. But don't criticize other people for enjoying what the service (and boat itself) have to offer!


I think Rochester needs to do a better job of selling itself. I did'nt know anything that you mentioned in terms of attractions. They should have an advertising blitz. Unfortunatly summer tourist season is gone, but that gives you a full year to prepare for next summer.
Maybe try some package deals. Toronto did that after SARS and it was quite a success (mind you a of locals took advantage as opposed to purely toursists). You can have one price that would give you round trip on the CAT, hotel accomodations for one night and free admission to a couple attractions. Throw in a free bus ride from the ferry terminal to the hotel. Presto, you got a nice package.

I personally choose not to go on the ferry not because I dislike Rochester, but that I can't justify the cost of ferry/hotel just to cross a lake. I can spend that money and go to Montreal or Ottawa instead. Now make a package that competes and advertise yourself aggresively and that can change things around.

Just my humble opinion

I think Rochester needs to do a better job of selling itself. I did'nt know anything that you mentioned in terms of attractions. They should have an advertising blitz. Unfortunatly summer tourist season is gone, but that gives you a full year to prepare for next summer.
Maybe try some package deals. Toronto did that after SARS and it was quite a success (mind you a of locals took advantage as opposed to purely toursists). You can have one price that would give you round trip on the CAT, hotel accomodations for one night and free admission to a couple attractions. Throw in a free bus ride from the ferry terminal to the hotel. Presto, you got a nice package.

I personally choose not to go on the ferry not because I dislike Rochester, but that I can't justify the cost of ferry/hotel just to cross a lake. I can spend that money and go to Montreal or Ottawa instead. Now make a package that competes and advertise yourself aggresively and that can change things around.

Just my humble opinion

And a fair one at that. I think that Rochester has much of the same problem that people on here are saying Toronto does. It has such a negative image of itself, and doesn't really do a good job at trying to get people interested. I think a package deal that you mentioned is an outstanding idea and something that should definitely be looked into by the ferry operators.