News from Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT) massvacation.com

Boston Globe Travel Show: January 18-20, 2019

MOTT is excited to announce plans to exhibit at the 2019 Boston Globe Travel Show, which will be held at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston from January 18-20, 2019. We are planning to host a variety of costumed characters in our booth, so if you would like to feature your mascot, or wish to volunteer in the MOTT booth, please contact Phyllis M. Cahaly.

Congratulations Flynn Cruiseport Boston

Congratulations to the Flynn Cruiseport Boston on another record-breaking year of cruise passengers in the 2018 season. According to Tom Glynn, Massport CEO, Flynn Cruiseport Boston estimated that they welcomed 396,000 cruise passengers, 150 cruise ships and 20 different cruise lines to Boston. This translates to $485 million in economic output, $213 million to tourism-related businesses, nearly 2,000 jobs and $10 million in annual state and local tax revenues from cruise activity. Also, with the passing of the Economic Development Bill this past July, Massport will be spending $100 million in renovations for Flynn Cruiseport Boston which will include upgrades to efficiently handle 4,000+ passenger vessels.

Participate in Mass Beer Week

Calling all Massachusetts tap rooms, breweries, brew pubs, bottle shops, and restaurants. Join the Mass Brewers Guild, BeerAdvocate, Craft’d Events, Fat Basset Design, and the Mass. Brew Bros. in the celebration of Mass Beer Week taking place March 2-9, 2019. Joining is simple and only requires that you host an event focused exclusively on beer brewed in Massachusetts. Ideas for events include but are not limited to a Massachusetts tap takeover, beer/food pairing menus, specialty tastings, or panel discussion with brewers and consumers. For questions and additional details on how to get involved, contact the Mass Brewers Guild’s Executive Director Katie Stinchon.

New MOTT trail Applechusetts features Orchards, Cideries, and More- 
Leading up to the 24th annual Franklin County CiderDays festival, MOTT released Applechusetts, a guide to apple goods, experiences, and traditions across the Commonwealth. Applechusetts features pick-your-own orchards, farm stands, sweet treats, events, and cideries along with apple variety notes, recipes from local businesses, and hard cider tasting tips. An index and resources section at the back directs readers to MOTT and MDAR web pages for listings, maps, and more. Hard copies of Applechusetts were distributed at Franklin County’s CiderDays 2018, and a digital version of the guide is available on MOTT’s website at massvacation.com/apples.

Speaking of Franklin County’s CiderDays, MOTT also partnered with Yankee Magazine to distribute Yankee’s fall guide and a special food edition at the standout harvest festival. Mark your calendars: CiderDays will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2019. That’s 25 years of cider tastings, tours, talks, and so much more. How do you like them apples?

Applechusetts – Congratulations Russell Orchards for representing North Shore (other regional options include: Brooksby Farm, Connors, Appleton, Smolak)

Gloucester and Cape Ann were represented in two other MOTT themed guides: the Massachusetts Whale Trail and the Massachusetts Masterpiece Trail

Notable Media Coverage of Massachusetts (other than sports)
Check out award-winning UK Journalist Mike MacEachern’s story on Springfield and the Dr. Seuss Museum, published on BBC Travel in October. With BBC Travel’s reach of over 78 million people, this is another great result of Mr. MacEachern’s media visit to Massachusetts this past summer. Ireland’s TV3’s The Elaine Show in Ireland recently featured a Halloween special on Salem. Fast forward to 29:30 in this clip, to follow presenter Sarah Cleary’s journey to Boston and Salem. The Elaine Show’s 1 million viewers in Ireland will be getting a taste of Halloween in the Bay State.

Check out – North Shore in the news – BBC featured Kim Smith, Gloucester, Cape Ann and New England 

New International Flight
Delta will launch new nonstop daily service from Edinburgh, Scotland to Boston on May 23, 2019. Here’s the press release.

MA Sports Marketing Office Upcoming Sporting Events
International Volleyball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony, Springfield, Nov 10
135th “The Game:” Yale vs Harvard, Boston November 17
For a full schedule of major sporting events across Massachusetts, visit MAsportsoffice.com.

MA Film Office Film Festivals
Boston Jewish Film Festival – November 7 – 19
Northampton Film Festival – November 15 – 18
Boston International Kids Film Festival – November 16 – 18
For a full schedule of film festivals in Massachusetts, visit mafilm.org.

North Shore offerings: Cape Ann Cinema offers several festivals annually

BULLETIN BOARD – FREE means FREE!
With so many amazing free things to do in Massachusetts, we created a FREE category listing in our online calendar of events at massvacation.com. Now, you can feel free to add your organization’s cost-free events to MOTT’s year-round calendars. Just visit massvacation.com and click on ‘submit your listing’ on the bottom of the homepage. With questions, please reach out to John Alzapiedi.

By the Numbers MA Lodging Industry Performance
September, 2018 vs. September, 2017

Continue reading “Sign up for Mass Beer week, Applechusetts trail, Mass travel stats and FREE listings” →