Niagara Views

   Thousands of travelers on their way to Niagara Falls and other Western New York destinations seek help each year from information centers at the Clarence and Angola Thruway rest stops.

   They may ask for a hotel recommendation or pick up brochures about attractions throughout the state.

   But few visitors know that the operators of the Thruway tourist information centers earn a commission for booking hotel reservations or placing brochures in racks.

   For three decades, the public agencies charged with marketing Niagara Falls have operated the information booths. The publicly funded Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp. has held the contract to run the information centers since the marketing agency was formed. Its predecessor, Niagara Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau, ran the booths before that.

   "It's been very important to the U.S. side of Niagara Falls and to Niagara County and to the whole region, because those centers allow us the opportunity to capture the guest prior to them going over the border," said John Percy, president of Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp.

   Now, the New York State Thruway is negotiating with a private company, Niagara Majestic Tours of Niagara Falls, to run the Clarence and Angola information centers, and a request for proposals issued last year suggests that the new operator will be allowed to refer travelers to companies that run tours or offer attraction packages on a commission basis.

   That could put Niagara Majestic, which offers tours of the Falls region along with other services, in the position of being required to refer visitors to its competitors.

   The Thruway's request for proposals stipulates that the new information center operators must offer "equal opportunity" to all tour and attraction package businesses in the state.

   What do you think about the plan to privatize the two information centers?

   - Denise Jewell Gee