Devon Dams-O'Connor, Author at FourthIdea

Tourism in Totality

by Devon Dams-O'Connor | Apr 5, 2024 | Uncategorized

As tourism marketing pros, we move heaven and earth to bring visitors to our DMO clients. There’s nothing more satisfying than the thought of thousands upon thousands of people flocking to a city or region, booking hotels and setting out, cameras in hand, to experience the sights.

Until all those people decide to arrive in ONE DAY.

That’s the forecast for two of our clients, Destination Niagara USA and Visit Rochester, NY, whose cities are on the path of totality for the historic April 8 solar eclipse.

Niagara Falls USA, Niagara Falls New York

Destination Niagara USA

Visit Rochester, NY

It turns out that some of the attractions we highlight profusely in both cities’ travel guides and video footage are also the very best spots in the whole world to see this celestial event. In January, National Geographic named Niagara Falls the most picturesque place to view the eclipse and named Rochester the city with the best museums along the path of totality. Both cities, along with Buffalo, have appeared as big red dots on every map, on every newscast, for over a year, highlighting the best places to put on those cardboard glasses and stare at the sky.

As a result, visitors from around the world are flocking to both destinations in what appear to be record numbers, snatching up every available hotel room, Airbnb, VRBO, and friend’s extra couch to be there to witness this rare celestial phenomenon.

crowd of different people gathers in special sunglasses,looks at the solar eclipse and laughs,unique natural phenomenon

At first, it sounds like a great thing—a rare opportunity for organic visitation, exposing throngs of people to the sights, culture, food and people that define these destinations. Or maybe not. Instead, masses of visitors descending on a city for one day to witness less than four minutes of action in the sky creates really interesting challenges for DMOs and hospitality businesses responsible for welcoming and hosting so many people. Rochester expects 300,000 to 500,000 visitors, while Niagara Falls and Buffalo are predicting to see closer to a million (each). To put those numbers in perspective, Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium only fit 65,000 to watch Super Bowl 2024.

What little lodging hasn’t already been booked is priced astronomically high. Business and institutional closures are being announced by the minute, shutting tourists and locals alike out of government buildings, museums, grocery stores, shops, restaurants, and even some parks. Parking is expected to be non-existent, and traffic pros are cautioning about an immovable gridlock of vehicles all trying to reach viewing destinations and pop-up events simultaneously. Tourism and hospitality employees are making contingency plans for how they’ll get themselves to work Monday. Concerns over too many people with too few resources prompted the Canadian side of Niagara Falls to preemptively issue a state of emergency the week before the event.

But, it’s also possible that this brief, eclipse-inspired visit to Niagara Falls or Rochester will spark visitor interest in returning to catch the sights unincumbered by crowds. Some of the best parts of both destinations will still be available for enjoyment, including the Falls themselves and surrounding parks, Rochester’s artistic and architectural gems, and the friendly residents who will undoubtedly do their best to welcome and help visitors as best they can. With years to prepare, many organizations and institutions have gone all out to plan viewing parties, days-long celebrations and special treats ranging from eclipse-inspired craft beers, ice cream flavors, and creative souvenirs. The Mayor of Rochester, Malik Evans, expects the event to have an incredible economic impact on the city, with visitors bringing in between $10 and $12 million from Saturday through Monday, the day of the eclipse.

We are sending our clients in both of these spots copious amounts of energy, good vibes, and a little bit of luck as they become the front row seats to an event of a lifetime. We hope the planets align in their favor!

We’ll post an update in the days following the eclipse to report whether predictions matched realities here in Buffalo and in our client cities along the path of totality.

Our Office is a Landmark

by Devon Dams-O'Connor | Mar 19, 2024 | Uncategorized

FourthIdea’s headquarters are located at 535 Washington Street. But most locals know that address as the iconic Electric Tower, one of the most recognizable buildings in the Buffalo city skyline.

An Illuminated History

The Electric Tower was built during Buffalo’s heyday in 1912 as the headquarters of General Electric. It was

inspired by the Electric Tower at the 1901 Pan-American Exhibition hosted in Buffalo, an event-specific structure that served as a soaring focal point of a historic event. Nearly eight million people from around the world flocked to the five-month-long event to see spectacles of artistry and ingenuity, including fairground streets lined with electric lights. This proud demonstration solidified Buffalo’s post as pioneers of electricity as it became one of the first cities to light streets and homes with power generated by newly developed hydroelectric power plants at Niagara Falls (now one of our destination clients). It would’ve been the first time most Pan Am visitors would’ve seen electric lights, ever. The tower, along with all the 1901 World’s Fair structures except one, were torn down at the close of the event.

When the permanent Electric Tower was completed at its present day location just as automobiles appeared

on Buffalo’s streets, it was the first building in the world to use electric lights for architectural effect. The white, glazed terra cotta facade made a brilliant blank canvas for illumination that seemed to make the whole skyscraper glow at night. Nowadays, spotlights illuminating the top layers change colors throughout the year to mark special occasions, like blue and red for Independence Day or the Buffalo Bills, green for St. Paddy’s Day, and pink for breast cancer awareness.

Our Slice of the Cake

FourthIdea moved into the tower in 2021. We’re just below the layer cake part of the building on the 14th floor. The open-concept office is a circular space surrounded by soaring windows that offer a 360-degree panorama of downtown Buffalo featuring the golden dome of the M&T building below, the waters of Lake Erie, and the sprawling radial street pattern leading away from the city center with views for miles on clear days. Fun fact: while being up this high makes for fantastic views, it also means we get to experience the entire building swaying when high winds whip off the lake and send our hanging lights swinging.

Secret Stashes

Like gathering spaces in many cool old buildings, our conference room has character that new builds don’t bother with anymore, like a beautiful fireplace and mantle (no fires allowed) and turn-of-the-century wooden wainscoting that wraps around the room to give it a stately feel. There’s a hidden door in one panel that opens to reveal our well-stocked liquor cabinet, but you’ll have to come by for happy hour to see this secret feature.

‘New Years Ground Zero

This space is particularly special on New Year’s Eve. The city of Buffalo’s official celebrations fill the streets surrounding the tower with celebratory crowds, music, street vendors and parties. It’s the second oldest New Years Eve countdown event in the U.S. behind Times Square, and we are at the epicenter. Before the countdown to midnight, the illuminated orb used for the ball drop hangs right outside of our conference room windows, an up-close view only those invited to the agency’s legendary New Year’s Eve party ever get to see. When the calendar flips to the new year, fireworks exploding over the tower bathe the white walls in light of every color.

A Promising Future

This building is a historic landmark. It’s a testament to the resurgence the city has seen over the past two

decades, as forgotten historic structures become thriving hubs of activity with investment—by both locals and out-of-towners—breathing welcome new life into this rust-belt queen city of the Great Lakes. For us, this space is a physical representation of the way we tend to think about the destination clients we work with: celebrate the storied past of a place, carry forward the features that make it special, and take a 360-degree view of what opportunities lie on the horizon to make sure people far and wide can see and recognize a specific location.