Koochiching County

The City of International Falls is seeing an increase in international visitors.

Executive Director of the International Falls, Rainier and Rainy Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, Katrina Heibel, says she had over 600 visits this year to her office.

Many of the people were from across the United States, but some were from outside North America.

“I’ve seen people from Australia, Spain, and Holland. We’re seeing a trend in guests wanting to visit all national parks, coming to get their stamps,” Heibel.

“Without the park, we wouldn’t see a lot of these people coming into the area.”

Heibel notes that the National Park Service estimates close to 200,000 visitors annually come to Voyagers National Park.

“Voyageurs National Park is an international dark sky sanctuary,” says Heibel.

“People are coming from all over for that. They’re coming for RVing, camping.”

Heibel says some are travelling into Canada as part of the tour linking the Falls with Thunder Bay and Duluth, which is promoted by Heart of the Continent and National Geographic.

Heibel says the financial impact on the area is measured in the millions.

Visitors who stay at area hotels, lodges or houseboats pay a lodging tax that flows directly back into tourism.

Heibel says they are also spending their dollars at area restaurants, retail outlets, attractions, gas stations, and others.

“And when visitors come to the area, they often fall in love with it. They come a second time, a third, some even 40 years. Some return to buy a cabin. Others even start businesses, and that’s the long-term halo effect of tourism at work.”

Forty percent of the Bureau’s marketing is digital.

It is now producing its own video content that has attracted a lot of attention on its social media sites.

Heibel says they have also done a lot of advertising in the broadcast of Minnesota State High School tournaments.

“They do ads for us and then we run commercials during the games for hockey and basketball, girls and boys. This combined got us a total of 2.6 million views. People love to see Rainy Lake up on the Jumbotron.”

A new website is now under development.

“It’s going to be mobile-friendly and a travel-minded design. It’s going to have advanced lodging searches, so visitors can filter by location. They can select either International Falls, select Rainier or the lake, and then they can check amenities that they’re looking for, specifically like pet-friendly, need a hot tub, or closer to Voyageurs.”

Heibel says there will also be an interactive map that will provide more information about various locations and landmarks like Smokey Bear Park.