There's nothing unusual about float planes in other parts of the world, the West coast of Canada for one.
My younger brother was the supervisor at Victoria Harbour FSS until he retired last year--in the last annual report they had 43,000 aircraft movements in the harbour area handled by the FSS (mix of float planes and helicopters into several local heliports). For businessmen travelling between Vancouver and Victoria it was by far the most efficient way to travel from downtown to downtown.