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Question:

How do you dispel the myth that the Canadian/US border is an iron curtain and that US citizens need a passport to return to the States in order to encourage American tourists to visit Niagara Falls?

Answer:

You work with a consortium of major Niagara Falls tourism players to quickly pull together and execute a public relations and marketing communications strategy that has a simple but clear message: “10 Minutes to Canada – No Passport Required.”

Result:

The Easy Crossing Council campaign hit key drive markets in July 2005 with a public relations and marketing campaign. A “wait times” report was released in August that showed 90% of the time it takes 10 minutes or less to cross the bridges into Canada.

Through the "10 Minutes to Canada - No Passport Required" PR and marketing campaign, millions of impressions were made on American tourists. Substantial media coverage was generated on both sides of the border and decision makers in Ottawa and Washington took notice. The Easy Crossing Council will continue its work this spring and summer. 

Based on the success of the initial campaign, the Easy Crossing Council repeated the campaign during the next two tourism seasons.