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NOVEMBER 2018

Dear Colleagues,

It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is already upon us. Two important travel holidays are approaching – Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI -- and it’s no secret: America’s first Thanksgiving originated in Massachusetts nearly 400 years ago. For ideas on how to commemorate both holidays, see our War Memorials guide and our Thanksgiving page.

Also, MOTT just participated in Franklin County’s 24th annual CiderDays harvest festival, where we distributed the recently released Applechusetts guide.

Read on for our Spotlight this month, featuring Ellie Donovan of Plimoth Plantation. She mentions the much-anticipated return of the Mayflower II.

Lastly, I would like to congratulate the Boston Red Sox on their World Series Championship! We’re already looking forward to watching them play (and beat!) historic rivals the Yankees in London this June for the MLB’s first European baseball match.

Thank you for working with us to make Massachusetts a premier travel destination.

Sincerely,

Francois-Laurent Nivaud
Executive Director
MOTT

Ellie DonovanIndustry Spotlight
Ellie Donovan
Living History

Each November, Plymouth, Massachusetts becomes the epicenter for Thanksgiving, America’s national holiday, with a variety of commemorations and activities. We spoke with Ellie Donovan, executive director of Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum that replicates the original 17th century settlement of the Pilgrims....
Read more

By the Numbers

MA Lodging Industry Performance
September, 2018 vs. September, 2017

• Number of Rooms Sold: in MA (2.1 million) grew 5.7%, significantly outpacing the U.S. which declined by 0.1%, better PA, (up 3.1%), New York, (up 0.9%) and NJ, (up 3.6%).

Note: MA’s growth in Rooms Sold corresponds with the opening of the MGM Springfield Resort in August 2018. Hampden County Rooms Sold was up 14.2% in September.

• Occupancy Rate: in MA increased by 1.4% while the U.S. was down 2.1% and surpassed PA (+1.4%), New York (-0.9%) & NJ (-1.4%).

• Average Daily Room Rate (ADR): increased by 2.9% in MA, compared to +1.9% for the U.S. +2.8% in PA, and +0.1% in NY but lagged NJ +6.6%.

• Room Revenue: Growth in MA of 8.8% was higher than the U.S. (+ 1.7%), PA (+6.0%) and New York (+0.8%) but trailed NJ (up 10.4%).

• Revenue per Available Room (Rev-Par.): increased in MA by 4.3%, compared to decreases of 0.3% in the U.S. and 1.0% in NY. However Rev-Par was up 4.3% in PA and up 5.1% in NJ.

Note: MA’s Rev-Par growth in September outperformed the U.S. primarily because of the 5.7% growth of Rooms Sold, which was significantly higher than the U.S. which declined 0.1%.

MA Lodging Industry Performance
Calendar year (CY 2018) vs. (CY 2017) Year-to-Date September

• For the first 9 months of calendar year 2018, Rooms Sold in MA grew 5.3% to 16.5 million vs. an increase in U.S. of 2.5% to 961.8 million. By comparison PA was up 6.0%, NY up 4.6% and NJ up 5.3%.

Note: This significant increase in Rooms Sold corresponds with the building and opening of the MGM resort. Hampden County Rooms Sold increase CYTD was 16.8%.

• Increase of only 0.1% in Average Daily Room Rate (ADR) in MA continued to hold back growth in both MA’s Room Revenue (up 5.4%) and Rev-Par (up 1.8%).

• ADR was up 2.5% across the U.S., up 1.6% in PA, up 2.2% in NY and up 4.2% in NJ.

• MA increase in Room Supply of 3.5% also contributed to the drag on Rev-Par growth in MA of only 1.8%. Rev-Par was up 3.1% in U.S., up 5.9% in PA, up 4.3% in NY and up 6.4% in NJ.

Industry News

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.

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?

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Notable Media Coverage

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.

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
November 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.

CONTENTS

 

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.

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