Niagara is a big tourist destination, but it doesn’t have an international airport, and any trip to Niagara is bookended by long overland trips to/from Toronto or Buffalo. 

The fact that you can’t fly directly into Niagara means that most international tourists are going to fly into Toronto or Buffalo and travel overland. Many of them will only visit Niagara on a day trip and stay in another city. Statistics clearly show that international tourists spend more than domestic tourists and overnight tourists spend more than day-trippers, so to maximize our tourism industry, we need more overnight, international tourists. Tourism is hugely important to Niagara’s economy and supports a massive number of local jobs and businesses.  

There are 2,800 tourism businesses in Niagara, and 40,000 people working in the sector. That’s nearly one in every six workers in the region. 

Niagara is the largest metropolitan area in Canada without an international airport within 25km. Our closest airports either require a journey of over 100km within Canada, or crossing an international border.  

12.7% of Ontario tourists came from out-of-province in 2022, but this group accounted for 33.7% of all tourism spending, showing the clear value of attracting visitors from afar. 

The capacity to service airliners would mean that direct commercial flights into and out of the Niagara region would become possible and would be a major boost to trade, commerce, and tourism in Niagara. 

We support the expansion of the Niagara District Airport to an international capacity, with a 7,500ft runway and an international terminal. We’re asking the provincial, federal, and municipal governments to fund this project together. 

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