LaSalle Causeway closure has significant impact on still recovering tourism industry

The ongoing closure of LaSalle Causeway is impeding local tourism businesses and will significantly impact peak tourism season   

 

(Kingston, Ontario, Canada) – The closure of LaSalle Causeway on March 31 following an incident during scheduled maintenance has already had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on Kingston’s tourism sector – a sector hard-hit by COVID-19 and still recovering from the economic losses caused by the pandemic. Now five weeks into the closure without a clear reopening timeline, the city’s peak tourism season, which generates millions of dollars and employs thousands of residents, is threatened. 

 

“There is never a good time to close a major artery like the LaSalle Causeway, which connects Kingston’s tourism-dependent downtown with the east and key attraction, Fort Henry. That this closure occurred at the start of peak tourism season and has literally trapped two key visitor attractions is catastrophic,” says Megan Knott, CEO of Tourism Kingston.   

 

Impact to cruise operators 

 

Kingston 1000 Islands Cruises and St. Lawrence Cruise Lines both have ships docked in the Inner Harbour north of the LaSalle Causeway, where they overwinter. Both businesses offer cruises of the Thousand Islands. St. Lawrence Cruise Lines’ 60-passenger Canadian Empress is the business’s sole ship, offering five-day, four-night cruises along the St. Lawrence River. Kingston 1000 Islands Cruises, operated by Kingston Destination Group, cannot access their ships, the Island Belle (160-passenger capacity) and Island Star (170-passenger capacity), due to the Causeway closure.  

 

St. Lawrence Cruise Lines has 30 staff affected by the ongoing closure. Fifty-six employees at Kingston Destination Group are affected. Combined, the businesses will lose a projected $4 million in direct revenue. The loss of related economic activity, like accommodations, dining, and shopping, is estimated to have a $15 million economic impact to Kingston’s economy.  

 

“This will have a huge impact felt across the regional economy for years,” says Jason Clark of St. Lawrence Cruise Lines. “Our bookings for 2024 have been exceptionally strong and we were looking forward to bringing those passengers to Kingston. Now we are in a position of cancelling full cruises and our business and our crew are facing financial uncertainty. There will be a ripple effect for small businesses and jobs across the region.” 

 

Impact to travel trade tourism  

 

Tour buses currently planning day or overnight visits to Kingston may drive past the city entirely if they cannot get to both Fort Henry and downtown. Buses that do visit Fort Henry via Highway 15 will skip going downtown for dining, shopping, and sightseeing, returning to the highway and their next destination. If they experience traffic delays while entering Kingston, they are likely to skip Kingston for future tours. 

 

Use of the Waaban Crossing has serious infrastructure challenges for tour buses, as the eastbound intersection from Montreal Street to the Crossing has not been updated. Buses that are able to enter Kingston via Highway 15/Waaban Crossing/Montreal Street cannot directly leave by the same route.  

 

Travelling north on Montreal Street, they must turn left onto Hickson, right onto Harvey, right on Elliott, and right again onto John Counter Boulevard to get to Waaban Crossing. Tour bus companies that take passengers to multiple locations in one day (e.g., Kingston and Gananoque) cannot afford to have any delays in their itineraries. With these delays, Kingston is in danger of being omitted from their itineraries altogether and seeing additional impact to the local visitor economy. Travel Trade tourism in Kingston generated a $3 million+ economic impact in 2023.  

 

Impact to other businesses 

• Fort Henry National Historic Site, an anchor location attracting tour groups, leisure travellers, and hosting sport and related events. In 2022-23, Fort Henry welcomed nearly 80,000 visitors. The Causeway closure impacted the Fort’s total solar eclipse event on April 8. They saw a 50% decline in attendance against 10,000 reservations for the event.  

• MetalCraft Marine, which services 1,000 boats a year at the Davis Drydock, has contracts with governments and businesses globally to build and refit boats. The ongoing inability to bring boats into the Inner Harbour has lost MetalCraft Marine international contracts for refitting. 

• All governments or businesses in Eastern Ontario or New York State that use the Davis Drydock for ship/ferry repair or docking. 

• I-Cycle Electric Bikes, a small local company based near Fort Henry that greatly depends on visitor traffic from downtown Kingston. 

• Kingston Trolley Tours: Fort Henry is inaccessible for their hop-on hop-off service. 

• All local accommodations, restaurants, museums, other tourism-adjacent businesses and their suppliers that count on cruise and bus traffic into downtown Kingston beginning in May. 

• All sporting events planned for Kingston that need to use east-end sport facilities, including two major soccer tournaments in June and July that will bring 7,200 young athletes, plus families and coaches to the city