Tourism Council Update – July 2026
High Hopes for the Summer 2026 Tourism Season
The early days of summer are always an exciting time for the Greater Cape Ann tourism community, and that was certainly true in 2026, as evidenced by the discussions at the June 25 meeting of the Chamber’s Tourism Council.
Members of the tourism community came together to review industry gatherings, hear updates on early summer events and activities, and share plans for the season – all of which presented an encouraging preview of the months ahead.
May and June saw a number of meetings focused on helping the tourism community prepare for this summer and beyond. At this month’s Council meeting, we recapped the Chamber’s Spring Tourism Mixer, the opening of the Gloucester Welcome Center, a presentation in Salem by the Massachusetts Office and Travel and Tourism’s Executive Director, and a Discover Gloucester/North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau event.
The group also looked back on May and June events that helped kick off the summer season, including Motif #1, the Battle of Gloucester Reenactment, and St. Peter’s Fiesta. Council members turned their attention to the months ahead, hearing updates on events like Gloucester’s Culture Splash (Thursday from July 9 through August 27), Gloucester’s Main Street Block Parties (July 11, August 7 & September 4), the Blackburn Brewfest (the evening of July 18), Manchester’s Festival by the Sea (August 1), Rockport Illuminations (August 8), and the Gloucester Waterfront Festival (August 15 & 16).
We also discussed other summer highlights beyond Greater Cape Ann that have or will draw visitors to our communities, including the arrival of the Tall Ships, Rev250 activities and the World Cup soccer tournament.
Council members shared their own updates, including new programs and offerings for the summer season – much of this information can be found on the Chamber’s capeannvacations.com website.
Summer also presents an opportunity to make visitors aware of all that Greater Cape Ann offers in the fall, winter and spring, and in our June meeting, we discussed marketing plans for these other seasons, many focused on our region’s lively arts and culture community.
Finally, the Council continued its conversations around the gathering and analysis of tourism data that will help us grow our visitor-base economy long term.
We’ll address all this and more in our upcoming Tourism Council meetings – the next set for July 17. Anyone who is involved in or has an interest in Greater Cape Ann’s visitor-based economy is invited to join us for these meetings. We gather on the third Friday of each month at the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce offices — and via Zoom. If you’d like to be part of these discussions, please reach out to me or contact the Chamber staff.
Tony Sapienza
Co-owner, Blue Shutters Beachside Inn
Chair, Tourism Council
tsapienza@gmail.com
Learn more about the Greater Cape Ann Chamber’s Tourism Council
