BUFFALO, N.Y. — You may have heard that Buffalo is once again getting attention from a major publication.
A Forbes Advisor contributor just named Buffalo one of the fifty best places to travel in 2024.
Wednesday, we talked with Patrick Kaler with Visit Buffalo Niagara about what making lists like this one does for Western New York.
"I love when Buffalo and Erie County end up on these lists, especially at the end of the year. It's kind of a testament to the hard work at Visit Buffalo Niagara working with publications, as well as travel writers, and so my staff knows that I love to be on a list," says Patrick Kaler, President and CEO of Visit Buffalo Niagara.
This time, Buffalo made the Forbes Advisor 50 Best Places To Travel In 2024 list as one of the Great Places to Travel in the East.
"When we're put on lists with other major destinations, last year we were on Travel and Leisure's 23 Places to Visit in 2023 and we were up there with Los Angeles and Saudi Arabia, worldwide destinations, Paris, and so when we are compared to other destinations like that, it really puts us on a great playing field," said Patrick Kaler.
And Kaler says that's really important when some people still think certain things about Western New York.
"We still are challenged by the overall perceptions of Buffalo. You know, I was just in New York over the weekend, and people were saying how much snow do you have, and I said it's almost 60 degrees in Buffalo and so that's one of the great things that we've been able to do at Visit Buffalo Niagara is to change that vernacular and to tell the great stories of our past and where we are going in the future," said Patrick Kaler.
Kaler says one of Buffalo's future parks will play a big role in future tourism.
"To have another world-class park right on the waterfront in the City of Buffalo will be a great story for us to tell. To actually get out and experience the beauty of our destination. Having come from many other different destinations, our summers, springs, and falls are really beautiful where we don't have the high humidity that you might have in D.C. or Philadelphia, that you can escape to Buffalo and have a great outdoor experience in our community in one of the many parks that we have and the Ralph Wilson Park is just going to be another fantastic experience for visitors to enjoy," said Patrick Kaler.
And he says that a lot of people who visit, whether it's for business or a vacation, come back again.
"One of the opportunities that we have will be the potential for Great Lakes cruising that we might have in 2026. The propensity for repeat visitation is very high. Almost 50% for those people that come on those cruises who may just stop for a day, or they'll come and get on the boat for one day, but they'll come back on another repeat visit to our destination and bring other relatives or friends with them," said Patrick Kaler.