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September 2019
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to September. The Big E State Fair is in full swing,
drawing over 1 million visitors to Western Massachusetts to enjoy
our region’s agricultural riches. Autumn begins on September 23,
when tourists from around the world make their annual pilgrimage to
witness our breathtaking fall foliage, to go apple picking, and to
enjoy our culture, heritage and hospitality.
September also kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month, a celebration of
our rich ethnic fabric that makes Massachusetts such a special
visitor destination. In our MA Spotlight, we are pleased to
profile Latino community leader Dr. Vanessa Calderón-Rosado.
Thank you for working with MOTT and our partners to promote
Massachusetts as a top destination for leisure and business travel.
Sincerely,
Keiko Matsudo Orrall
Executive Director
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Industry
Spotlight
Vanessa
Calderón-Rosado
Celebrating
Latino Culture in Massachusetts
Vanessa
Calderón-Rosado, Ph.D. is CEO of IBA -
Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, a non-profit
organization and a dynamic community development corporation in
Boston’s South End that serves as New England’s premier Latino arts
hub. We spoke to Vanessa about her work promoting Latino culture
and heritage ...Read more.
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By the Numbers
Lodging Data for U.S. &
Massachusetts: July 2019 vs. July 2018
• The Occupancy
Rate across the U.S. for July 2019 (73.8%)
increased by 0.4%, compared to July 2018. The Occupancy Rate in
MA (79.7%) decreased by 0.3%, compared to July 2018.
• In the U.S., Rooms Sold grew
by 2.4% to 122.3 million. Rooms
Sold in MA totaled 2.2 million, an increase of
2.0%.
• The Average Daily Rate in MA of
$212.35 in July, 2019 was a 1.4% increase. This increase was double
the U.S. ADR
growth of 0.7% to $135.04.
• Revenue
Per Available Room (RevPar) increased by 1.1% in MA
to $169.22. This increase matched the 1.1% growth in RevPar
to $99.62 in the U.S.
• Room
Revenue in MA totaled $468.5 million, up 3.4%, and
outperformed the U.S. Room
Revenue growth, which was up 3.1% to $16.5 billion.
Lodging Data for U.S. & MA:
Calendar year to date July 2019 vs. July 2018
- From January to July 2019, the Occupancy Rate across
the U.S. (67.1%) increased by 0.1%, compared to the same
period in 2018. The Occupancy
Rate in MA decreased by 1.7% to 67.6% over the
same periods.
- Rooms Sold in the U.S. totaled 751.5 million, an
increase of 2.1%. The MA Rooms Sold increased
by 0.8% to 12.3 million.
- The Average
Daily Rate (ADR) in MA of $185.37 was a 2.5%
increase, which was more than the U.S. ADR
growth of 1.1% to $131.85.
- Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar) increased by 0.8% in MA (to
$125.39), and underperformed the 1.2% growth (to $88.45) in
the U.S.
- Room Revenue in MA totaled $2.3 billion, up 3.3%. The
U.S. was up 3.2% to $99.1 billion.
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Industry
News
The Big E
“New England’s Great State Fair,” The Big E, opened on Friday,
September 13 and runs through Sunday, September 29. A
centennial celebration of the Massachusetts State Building was held
on September 16, and this year’s Massachusetts Day is on September
19. You will see MOTT staff along with volunteers from the 16
Massachusetts Regional Tourism Councils managing the Massachusetts
Visitor Information Booth within the building. The Big E highlights
Massachusetts’ agriculture, commerce and tourism through
informational, educational and retail exhibits.
Held annually at the Eastern States Exposition grounds in West
Springfield, this 17-day fair is the largest agricultural event on
the eastern seaboard and one of the largest fairs in the nation.
Record-breaking attendance was set last year when more than 1.5
million visitors attended the fair.
Click here to learn more about The
Big E.
NYC
Receptive Event – note: new date! 11/13/19
Discover New England is hosting a receptive event in New York City
on Wednesday,
November 13, 2019. The event is an evening
networking reception where New England industry can meet New
York/New Jersey/Massachusetts-based international tour and
receptive operators. Approximately 60 operators are expected to
attend. New England industry will have a small table space to
present/display brochures.
Cost to
attend: $400 per person (2nd person
from the same company will be $250) - plus travel, hotel and
personal expenses.
Time:
4 p.m. set-up, event from 5 to 8 p.m.
Location:
Atlantica Yacht at Chelsea Pier New York
If you have any questions about the event or would like to signup,
please contact us at info@discovernewengland.org. Check here for more information
about upcoming trade shows and mission.
Fall and
Winter Promotions
MOTT has several thematic promotional campaigns in the works for
the cooler seasons ahead.
- This fall, the focus is on apples, from
pick-your-own farms to hard cider makers – culminating with
the 25th anniversary of Franklin County’s Cider
Days this November. Visit massvacation.com/apples for
inspiration, and be sure to use the hashtag #applechusetts for
all things apples this fall.
- This winter, MOTT is working up a campaign
with the 12 Massachusetts Ski Areas to promote skiing and snow
sports. This paid search/social media campaign is focusing on
expanding the audience with messages like “Learn to Ski” and
“Bring a Friend.” More details to come!
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International News
The MOTT Team is proud to share recent international press results
from hosted media visits in Massachusetts:
- Check out Spanish journalist Galo Martín’s piece
on Melville’s footsteps just published in Guias de Viaje Anaya. Galo
was hosted in partnership with Brand USA Spain for a thematic
media tour of Massachusetts in May 2019 highlighting the 200th
Anniversary of Herman Melville’s birthday.
- A piece titled “Uncovering historic Boston's
contemporary art scene,” was published in August
2019 by Connor
McGovern, Assistant Editor of National Geographic Traveller
UK.
The National Geographic Traveller UK feature has reach of
300,000 and editorial value of $458,991.
Thank you to all the hosts who made these media
visits memorable and successful! It is with your support that
we are able to share the Massachusetts story with a global
audience.
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Industry
Calendar
September
ACT&T meeting – September 18
The next quarterly meeting of the Advisory Commission on Travel
& Tourism (ACT&T) takes place at 10 a.m. at the State
Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza, Conference Rooms 2+3,
Boston.
October
MMP meeting – October 9
The next quarterly meeting of the Mass Marketing Partnership (MMP)
takes place at 10:00 a.m. at MOTT’s office, 136 Blackstone Street,
Haymarket Square, Boston.
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MOTT
Bulletin Board
Happy
Anniversary!
Did you know that MOTT has a specific landing page just for Special Anniversary Celebrations? Check
it out to see upcoming events like the 100th Anniversary
of Saint Anthony’s Feast, the 100th Anniversary of the
Massachusetts Building at The Big E, the 50th
Anniversary of the Norman Rockwell Museum and so much more! We are
always looking for distinctive and unique anniversary celebrations
recognizing a variety of events such as the establishment date of a
city or town, a special birthdate, celebration or commemoration. If
you have a special anniversary to list for 2019 or 2020, please
contact John
Alzapiedi.
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 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.
50 Great
Things to do Under $50
MOTT’s ’50 Great Things to do Under $50’ is consistently
ranked as one of our most visited web pages each month. To
list a special deal offered by your organization, the offer must be
valid for a two-month duration and the admission of under $50
must cover either: two adults and two adults with two
children 12 and under. We are currently accepting ’50 Under $50’
submissions for January/February and March/April 2020. Please send
your offers for consideration to: Phyllis
M. Cahaly.
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