Many downtown cores and urban areas not only in Niagara but across Ontario and Canada are facing economic depression and stagnation. Events and festivals have a proven track record of attracting tourist spending and creating business, which can be harnessed to revitalize these areas.

Depressed parts of urban areas often face a vicious cycle: fewer people visit, which makes local businesses less viable, which means fewer reasons to visit. Breaking this cycle involves bringing people back to these areas. Arts and cultural tourists spend far more than regular tourists, making up 13% of all tourism but 30% of all tourism spending, making arts and cultural events a very cost-effective way to bring people back to areas in need of economic stimulus.

In 2019, the Celebrate Ontario program supported over 250 events and festivals for a direct investment of less than $10 million. In 2023, trips featuring arts and cultural activities produced $11.4 billion in total spending, and $5.7 billion in direct value-added economic activity. This funding is highly effective, and can be more directly allocated to geographical areas where the boost is most needed.

In downtown St. Catharines, for instance, the Meridian Centre has staged over 200 live events per year, and the Performing Arts Centre 1,000, which has brought hundreds of thousands of people to the downtown core, with a huge benefit in local economic activity. For its role in neighbourhood renewal, the Meridian Centre was given a Brownie Award by the Canadian Urban Institute.

The governments of Ontario and Canada should offer funding programs for events, festivals, and cultural activities specifically targeted at economically-depressed areas and downtown cores in need of revitalization in order to entice people back to those areas and boost local businesses in tourism and tourism-adjacent industries.

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