The start of this year comes with a rise in border crossings from International Falls to Fort Frances compared with the same months last year.

“It’s encouraging to see there’s more traffic,” said Pete Schultz, director of the International Falls, Rainy Lake and Ranier Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s a good thing for tourism and businesses on both sides of the border.”

The latest numbers for March 1 through 7 show an approximate 7-percent increase in vehicle crossings compared with last year. The figure comes from traffic counts by Minnesota, Dakota & Western Railways Co., owner and operator of the International Bridge between International Falls and Fort Frances. MD&W is a subsidiary of Boise Inc.

February followed the same trend — there was an approximate 6-percent increase in vehicle crossings — compared with last year, according to Kristen Wold, controller for MD&W, who said the company tracks daily counts of crossings into Canada.

Numbers for crossings into International Falls from the U.S. government are not released to the public.

January kicked off the trend for 2012 with a 6-percent increase in travelers and a 6.5 percent increase in vehicles compared with January 2011, according to numbers from the Canada Border Services Agency. This included about 50,800 travelers in 28,950 vehicles that crossed the border at the Fort Frances port-of-entry that month.

“This is certainly good news,” said International Falls Chamber of Commerce president Faye Whitbeck, who added that two years ago, numbers reported to the chamber from MD&W showed a decline of crossings into Canada of about 200,000 over a one-year period. “We think there are several possibilities for the increases reported.”

Whitbeck speculates part of the increase could be attributed to snowfall patterns this winter with the Falls having snow while other areas of the region did not. This attracted snowmobilers from Manitoba and Ontario, who would eventually use the Fort Frances port-of-entry to return home.

“There are some signs that big increases in local snowmobiling this winter may have included Canadian traffic,” she said. “Being one area of the region with great snowmobile trails this winter, the message traveled.”

Schultz said it is likely the increase in snowmobilers included many Canadians, because the visitors bureau launched an Internet marketing campaign in January to attract snowmobilers from the other side of the border. Using Google AdWords, the CVB purchased words tied to snowmobiling, Ontario and Manitoba so that typing those words into the search engine yields results with Falls snowmobiling trails higher on the list.

“We have no idea if they came from Ontario or Minneapolis — there’s no way of telling without a survey or secure tracking system,” Schultz said. “But we do know in addition to our campaign efforts, the trail permit is $135 in Manitoba and only $16 in the Falls. That factor could have attracted Canadians.”

Some of the crossings may also be Fort Frances area citizens returning home after coming to the Falls, Whitbeck added.

“Canadians continue to come to the U.S. for cost savings on groceries, fuel and entertainment,” she said. “We know there are significant numbers of Fort Frances folks coming into the Falls.”

Similarly, Falls residents traveling to Fort Frances for retail businesses could have added to the travel numbers with “small recoveries in the U.S. economy,” Whitbeck said.

Anthony Mason, manager of Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce said that in the past year or so, the chamber has partnered with Fort Frances businesses to launch a mass marketing campaign encouraging people to shop at local businesses. With the start of Market Thursdays in downtown Fort Frances this past summer, he added, Falls residents may have been more encouraged to cross the border.

 “Any increase in travelers at the border into Fort Frances is very much welcome,” Mason said. “It helps the retail market, and you want to hope that if we can attract people from surrounding areas and International Falls to come shop at our businesses, that’s just a plus for our community.”

Schultz, Whitbeck and Mason all told The Journal the most recent and largest increase is likely attributable to the Canadian government’s policy change alleviating past restrictions on entry due to single offenses, including drinking and driving convictions. The change took effect March 1.

Canadian resorts have reported since the beginning of the month to the Fort Frances Chamber slight increases in visitors who were previously denied entry to the country because of a DUI or other conviction, according to Mason.

“The resort owners have already felt that this is helping,” Mason said. “That’s just a step in the right direction. The effects are already reclaiming some of their past clients, and it’s going to take a while to feel the full effect, but as the word goes around, we’re hoping more past clients will come.”

Schultz added that the policy change is also beneficial to the Falls’ economy.

“(The Canadian government) had been turning people away on a daily basis,” he said. “Tourists from out of the area traveling to Canada passing through International Falls on their way, do contribute to the Koochiching County economy.”

The policy change could also have caused increased traffic at the Fort Frances port-of-entry by U.S. citizens who were previously denied access to Canada going north for ice fishing, Whitbeck said.

“This report of crossing increases makes tourism, as a critical northern industry, look brighter,” Whitbeck said. “It also shows the Canadian government’s acknowledgement of its important economic partnership with the United States.”