March 2020
Dear Colleagues,
Massachusetts
has a lot to celebrate in March, from Women’s History and the 250th
anniversary of the Boston Massacre to Maple Syrup Month and Irish
Heritage. And of course, spring is right around the corner,
another reason to celebrate!
Our MA Spotlight this month is Cassandra Peltier, who highlights
the 200th anniversary of Susan B. Anthony and the 100th
anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right
to vote.
We are carefully keeping up with news about the coronavirus and its
effect on travel. The Massachusetts Department of Public
Health has an up-to-date overview of the coronavirus
as it pertains to Massachusetts.
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
Cassandra Peltier
Telling
the Story of Women's Rights
MOTT spoke with Cassandra Peltier, executive director of the Susan
B. Anthony Birthplace Museum in Adams, about the museum’s plans to
celebrate the 200th anniversary of Anthony’s birth, as
well as the 100th anniversary of the 19th
Amendment, ensuring women’s right to vote...Read more
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International
Opportunities
Spring
FAM Opportunity: Dertour/Austrian Airlines Trade FAM
Regions:
Boston / Cape Cod
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Participants: 12 people- 9 travel agents, and 3
hosts (1 Austrian Airlines, 1 Dertour, 1 MOTT Germany).
FAM
Background: In honor of the inaugural
Austrian Airlines flights between Vienna and Boston, DERTOUR and
Austrian Airlines, in partnership with MOTT, is organizing a Trade
FAM. MOTT seeks support for the following:
Thursday,
April 2: Boston
- hosted group dinner in Back Bay
Friday, April 3: Boston
- evening hosted show type of event in Boston
for the group as an activity on final night in Boston
- hosted dinner
Saturday, April 4: Cape Cod
- 8 hosted rooms (4 doubles, 4 singles) for
one overnight on Cape Cod, in addition to 2-3 hosted meals
(lunch/dinner), paired with site visits, at properties on the
Cape that work with Dertour.
If your tourism entity, hotel or restaurant is
interested in supporting this FAM, please contact Maria
Speridakos. Thank you.
Scandinavian
Familiarization Tour Assistance Request
Region:
Boston
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Participants: 10 (8 Travel Agents/Tour Operators, 2
Escorts – 1 Iceland Air/1 Atlantic Link)
FAM
Background: Scandinavia is one of Massachusetts’
top international origin markets. Icelandair Sweden, in co-op with
Atlantic Link, wants to organize a group trade FAM to Massachusetts
in spring 2020. Participants are a mix of leisure / corporate
agencies. The tentative target invite list includes Egencia, Amex
(HRG), Arrive Agencies, BCD, CWT, Resia and Ticket. The primary
receptives used in Scandinavia are Allied TPro, New World Travel
and Expedia. The group will be accompanied by two escorts with
Iceland Air/Atlantic Link.
Check-In:
Tuesday, April 21 Check-Out: Thursday, April
23
Needs:
10 hosted rooms (1 hotel) x 2 nights & hosted meals
If your hotel and/or restaurant wants to host this travel trade
group, contact Maria Speridakos. Thank you.
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Industry
News
Massachusetts
Celebrates Women Trailblazers
MOTT is creating a Historic Women Trailblazers brochure and digital
page to highlight the achievement of women in the Commonwealth and
mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution allowing women the right to vote. 2020 also marks the
200th anniversary of Massachusetts native and women’s
rights leader Susan B. Anthony.
North
Adams 125th Anniversary Milestone Celebration
2020 marks the 125th anniversary of the incorporation of North
Adams. The city is celebrating this milestone on April 24-25 with a
series of family-fun events. The planning committee is
seeking sponsors and donations. For more details, please email Suzy
Helme, director of community events and tourism
for North Adams.
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Travel
News
Austrian
Airlines Launches Boston-Vienna Route on March 29, 2020
Austrian Airlines, part of The Lufthansa Group, is launching the
very first nonstop flights between Boston and Vienna, Australia,
starting on March 29, beginning with four flights per week. Read story here.
Massport
Expands “Ticket to Skip” program
At the end of March, Massport is expanding its successful
"Ticket to Skip" initiative by giving priority access at
all security checkpoints to Peabody and Woburn Logan Express
riders. Currently the program offers “Ticket to Skip” access to
Back Bay Logan Express and any Water Transit riders.
REAL ID
Massport has partnered with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor
Vehicles to help spread the word about the upcoming Real ID
licensing changes taking effect on October 1, 2020. For
further information and facts about READ ID, please visit mass.gov/ID.
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Media
Clips
International
media coverage on Little Women movie
Read UK writer Dea Birkett’s article in Family Traveller, entitled “In the Footsteps of Little Women in
Massachusetts.” MOTT hosted Ms. Birkett in a press
FAM in July 2019. Family Traveller is a multi-platform,
award-winning lifestyle brand publication producing content to inspire
and provide an indispensable guide to anyone planning a family
holiday. The media outlet has a reach over 500,000, and the
article’s editorial value is approximately $112,500.
Stockbridge
tops the list of America’s most charming small towns
Congratulations Stockbridge, MA, named by Big Seven Travel as the “most
charming town in America.”
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Industry
Calendar
March 9, 2020
Restaurant
Promotion Commission Meeting
State House, Room 428, Boston
1 - 3 p.m.
Comments
for the Restaurant Promotion Commission’s consideration may be
submitted here.
March 10, 2020
Advisory
Commission on Travel and Tourism Meeting
State Transportation Building
10 Park Plaza, Second Floor, Conference Rooms 2 + 3
Boston, MA
2 - 4 p.m.
Commission that meets quarterly, whose purpose is to develop budget
recommendations and marketing strategies for the promotion of
travel and tourism to the Commonwealth.
March 11, 2020
Massachusetts
Marketing Partnership Board of Directors Meeting
136 Blackstone Street, 5th Floor, Conference Room
Boston, MA
10 a.m. - Noon
The MMP Board of Directors will hold its quarterly meeting at 136
Blackstone Street, 5th Floor, Boston (MOTT Office).
March 16, 2020
Restaurant
Promotion Commission Meeting
State House, Room 437, Boston
11 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Comments
for the Restaurant Promotion Commission’s consideration may be
submitted here.
May 1 – 10, 2020
ArtWeek
2020
MOTT is proud to be a returning partner of ArtWeek 2020 (May 1–10), an
award-winning statewide festival spotlighting the creative economy
in Massachusetts.
DNE
Annual Summit — May 11-12, 2020
Discover New England’s Annual Summit
takes place in Bethel, ME. Meet directly with international tour
operators and receptive operators who arrange trips for tens of
thousands of international travelers annually. New England tourism
representatives include lodging properties, attractions, destination
marketing organizations and state tourism offices.
IPW
2020 – May 30 – June 3, 2020
IPW, the leading international
inbound travel trade show for U.S. destinations, takes place in Las
Vegas, Nevada. IPW expects 1,300+ exhibitors - suppliers of USA
travel products and destinations - and 6,200+ attendees, including
1,300 international and domestic travel buyers and 500 journalists
representing 70 countries.
If you are interested in participating as a delegate in the
Massachusetts booth at IPW, or are planning to have a booth of your
own, contact Daniela De Caro-Heavey.
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Massachusetts
Film Office
Due to popular demand, the MA Film Office has translated the
“Massachusetts Film Location Map for Little Women” into three
additional languages - French, Italian and Japanese. MOTT’s
international reps are distributing the brochures to media and tour
operators who are interested in knowing more about Massachusetts. Details here.
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By the
Numbers
Lodging Data U.S. & MA:
January 2020 vs. January 2019
- The Occupancy
Rate across the U.S. for January 2020 (55.1%)
increased by 0.8% compared to January 2019. The Occupancy Rate in
MA (51.4%) increased by 4.3% compared to January 2019.
- In the U.S., Rooms Sold grew
by 3.0% to 91.1 million. Rooms Sold in MA
totaled 1.3 million, an increase of 7.7%.
- The Average
Daily Rate (ADR) in the U.S. of $126.06 in
January 2020 was a 1.4% increase. In MA, ADR
increased 0.2% to $137.64.
- Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar)
increased by 2.2% in the U.S. to $69.47. In MA, there was an
increase in RevPar
of 4.5% to $70.75.
- Room Revenue in the U.S. totaled $11.5 billion, up 4.4%
from January 2019. In MA, Room Revenue increased
by 8.0% to $180.4 million.
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MOTT
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 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 separately or two adults with two
children 12 and under. We are currently accepting ’50 Under $50’
submissions for May/June and July/August 2020. Please send your
offers for consideration to Phyllis
M. Cahaly.
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