Tourism 2006

Much has been written recently about the summer tourism season in Massachusetts. Since 9/11 the Tourism Industry has encouragingly said that business will rebound but it will take time and that is certainly the case. The rebound has taken longer than expected and, in general, the numbers stilt have

But a recent report by Smith Travel Research, comparing this July to July 2005, distributed by the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) shows that our State is doing quite well when compared to the rest of the U.S. as occupancy rates in the Bay State were up nearly 2.4% compared to 1.0% nationally

Interestingly, room rates in MA were up 9.6% relative to the rest of the country at 7.5%. This also means that the Commonwealth's "revenue per available room" (revPAR), calculated by multiplying a hotel's average daily room rate by its occupancy rate, was up over 12% versus 9.1% nationally and calendar year-to-date for June '06, revPAR was up 12.7% in contrast to 9.0% countrywide

As stated by Paul Sacco, Executive Director of MOTT, "As we near the end of our summer tourism season, I'm pleased to report that Massachusetts has produced another successful leisure travel cycle. Reports from all the regions indicate that tourism demand was on an upward swing this summer."

So where does Plymouth County fall in this deluge of detail?

In terms of occupancy levels, we are less than 2% behind the State and 1.6% ahead of the country. Although our average room rate is almost 9% higher than the country's it is 36% lower than the rest of the Commonwealth and our revPAR is $76.00 compared to MA $105.00 and the U.S. $69.85.

Massachusetts museum and attraction attendance was up dramatically (35.4%) in the month of January 2006 compared with January 2005 (388,342 VS. 279,338).

Fifty-four Massachusetts attractions that provide the State with their attendance numbers show that 2005 visitation totaled 11,396,444. The '05 figures January to June were 4,889,498 and July through December 6,246,774, January to June '06 figures are logged in at 5,149,670.

Locally, Plimoth Plantation reported a 2005 attendance figure of 342,612 and Edaville USA in Carver at 136,936. Through June 2006, only 3 months into their 8-month season, the Plantation counted 110,836 visitors and Edaville USA whose doors will remain open for special events through December shows 24,957. This is quite encouraging news seeing as fall, the busiest season in Plymouth County is just around the corner.

Shopping and dining data is not currently tracked by the State or the County but as a rising tide floats all boats, so too do rising attendance figures increase those who visit to enjoy the local restaurants, malls, shopping centers and downtowns.

If you would like to be more knowledgeable about tourism and how your business can be positively affected by becoming more involved, we highly suggest that you clear the dates of March 22 and 23, 2007 to attend the 20th Annual Massachusetts Governor's Conference on Travel and Tourism. Keynote speakers will be Roger DOW, President and CEO of the Travel Industry Association, and Dean Reeder, national tourism director for the National Park Service.

A dynamic and inspirational speaker, Mr. Dow is a travel and tourism industry legend, the man credited with launching the Marriott Rewards Program, during his days in the hospitality sector.

Mr. Reeder recently joined the National Parks Service, following a distinguished tenure as the director of the Utah Travel Council, and previous executive positions in hotel and resort development. Reeder also collaborated with Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the planning and promotion of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

If statistics are your thing, and you'd like to do more comparison of the 13 regions that make up Massachusetts, then log on the State's web site. www.MassVacation.com and click on "industry info" then "Research". Here you can peruse the "stats" and "data" that help us as an industry decide which way to point our compass and which direction to head.