The holiday season brings a festive close to the year for our region’s visitor-based economy, and in the November 18 meeting of the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce Tourism Council, we turned our attention not only to the holiday events and activities in the final weeks of 2022, but also to what we experienced over the past 12 months – and plans for 2023.
Discover Gloucester Director Tess McColgan gave a report on the October 27 Summer Season in Review meeting, which allowed us to look back on this particularly busy time for tourism on Cape Ann. In addition to discussing what was a successful summer for the tourism community, we talked about the increased visitor activity that continued into the fall. Another learning from that meeting: guests are increasingly aware of Cape Ann’s connection to movies and many visitors want to visit film locations. The Council talked about was to encourage more summer visitors to return in the fall season, including a fall 2023 catalog of activities to be released in the summer.
The focus shifted to the winter months, with a review of upcoming holiday activities and programs like Winter Lights, which launched in late November. The Council also discussed Cape Ann Museum’s Gloucester’s So Salty, which takes place January 21-23. This will feature a series of ice sculptures in downtown Gloucester, with additional programming planned around these installations. The goal is to have visitors enjoy the sculpture while exploring business and the Museum. The hope is to involve other business around Cape Ann through sponsorships and promotion. A full schedule of holiday activities is available of the Chamber’s Cape Ann Vacations website (www.capeannvactions.com).
Finally, the Council looked ahead and discussed inviting representatives from Gloucester 400 to join us and provide an update on that group’s plans for 2023 celebbrations. Our next meeting is scheduled for December 16, and anyone with an interest in Cape Ann’s tourism community is welcome to attend.
The Council meets monthly, on the third Friday of each month at the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce offices. Please email me at tsapienza@gmail.com if you’d like to join us or if you have any questions about our focus on supporting Cape Ann’s visitor-based economy by making our community a great place to visit.
Tony Sapienza
Co-owner, Blue Shutters Beachside Inn
Chair, Tourism Council
