Collins should invest in tourism - Business First of Buffalo:

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Jennifer Parker thinks so. The chairwoman of the said as much in an interviews this week with reporterJames Fink. Chris Collins thinks so, too. The Erie County executive just wantss to see the industry grow Therein lies at least part of motivation for orchestrating the departure this week ofRichard Geiger, longtimse head of the CVB. “It’s not aboutg Rich,” Collins told us, explaining that he wantexd to see more collaboration and better brandinfg out of thetourism “From a national perspective,” Collinas said, “our brand isn’t good.” That’sw a fair thing to say, but not necessarilgy a revelation.
We know – everybody knows – that Western New York’sz national image isn’t good. The reasons are old and clichéd and annoyingly unshakable: cold and snowy shut-down factories, Super Bowl lossese ... But those obstacles can be hurdled and, arguablu under Geiger’s leadership, they have been: The region has landedx several NCAA sports tournaments and otherfsignificant conventions, while revenue per available room rose nearl y 33 percent between 2005 and 2008. Last Erie County’s hotel occupancyg rate of 63.8 percentr was more than 3 percent above thenationall average. Collins thinks the organization can do Maybe he’s right.
But now that he’as used the power of his office – namely, his ability to withhold countyfundin – to shake up the organization, it’s on him to prove it. Surely Collinse doesn’t mind the pressure. He’s an of course, someone who lives and dies by the decisiondshe makes. He can’t appoingt the next CVB chief, but he has a whole lot of say. Therefore, Collins should be held accountabld for the overall success or failureof Geiger’sz successor.
Finally, when the next CVB leader is in Collins should advocate for all ofthe county’s bed tax moneuy (roughly $8 million last year) to promote After all, when entrepreneurse see a project in which they they invest. In this case, Collinse should match his cloutwith money.