Tourism Council Update – June 2026
Tourism Community Comes Together as Summer Approaches!
Summer will be here in full swing before we know it, and the tourism community is coming together to make this another great season across Greater Cape Ann. This was the focus of the Chamber’s annual Spring Tourism Mixer on May 12, which served as the Tourism Council’s monthly meeting.
This year, the Spring Tourism Mixer was held at the Rockport Art Association & Museum (RAA&M), and as one might imagine, there was a spotlight on Rockport’s popularity with visitors as well as the contributions of arts & culture to Greater Cape Ann’s tourism experience. Nearly 70 attendees from across the region attended the evening event, where they heard about upcoming summer highlights, networked with colleagues and shared updates on plans for the season. There were opportunities to browse RAA&M’s galleries and enjoy a “taste of Cape Ann” with dishes to sample from a number of restaurants. Thanks to Woodmans of Essex, Feather & Wedge in Rockport, the Beauport Hotel in Gloucester, and The Farm and Salty’s in Essex, as well as Emerson Inn, which provided beverages. And a very big thank you to RAA&M for hosting us that evening.
If you’d like to see some of the updates shared at the Mixer, click here for a presentation including slides contributed by dozens of attendees.
Among the updates that night was a reminder of the May 21 Open House at the Gloucester Visitor Center at Stage Fort Park, which also attracted dozens of members of the tourism community.
And there will be yet another opportunity for tourism networking on June 17: the Cape Ann Community Foundation’s Candlepins for a Cause event at Cape Ann Lanes. That evening, the Foundation will celebrate the recipients of this year’s non-profit grant awards, which is funded in large part by sale of the Cape Ann License Plate. The plates are important to our tourism economy: in addition to enabling these grants, the license plates help to promote the region wherever plate owners travel near and far. Visit the Foundation’s lovecapeann.com website to learn how you can get a plate – it’s quick and easy…and you’ll be supporting a very good cause.
There are still spots open for bowling teams and individual bowlers for the Candlepins for a Cause event on June 17. Click here if you like to learn more about the event – and to sign up as a bowler, a team, a sponsor or simply an attendee. . In the past, the Tourism Council has formed a bowling team, and if you’d like to be part of that group, please reach out to me or the Chamber staff.
We’ll have more updates on the summer season – and what’s in store for visitors in 2026 – at our next Tourism Council meeting, on June 19. Anyone who is involved in or has an interest in Greater Cape Ann’s visitor-based economy is invited to join us for this and upcoming monthly 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.
We hope to see you at the Candlepins for a Cause event on June 17!
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
