One of the key focuses of the Tourism Council is to promote Cape Ann as a year-round visitor destination, and this February, we got a taste of every season – a few winter days, and temps that felt like a holdover from fall or a preview of spring…and even summer.

This discussion at our monthly meeting on February 21 mirrored this year-long feeling, as our group discussed ways we can promote Cape Ann happenings in the winter, spring, summer and fall. We continue to work on our long-term calendar, identifying events and promotional opportunities for the remainder of 2020 and beyond.

We looked some of the near-term plans — including this month’s Girls Getaway Weekend, the sold-out Birders Boat Trip, and Beer Week – and talked about plans for our upcoming Tourism Collaborative, which will take place in May. Watch for details on this – and please join us.

May is also when we’ll see the publication of the Cape Ann Guide and the Cape Ann Map.  These are important promotional resources for Cape Ann, along with our Cape Ann Chamber websites, which include visitor-focused Cape Ann Life pages.

In addition to looking ahead, we took a t look back at Cape Ann’s strong showing at two important late-January events — the New York Times Travel Show (January 24-25) and the North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau annual summit (January 31). A number of the Tourism Council members attended these events and shared their insights on learnings – and their updates on Cape Ann’s leadership presence.

Our group is an excellent roundtable for these types of discussion – and we continue to expand our perspective by adding new members, including several who joined us for 2020 meetings.

We welcome more to join us for our monthly Tourism Council meetings. This month, we will meet at 8:30am on March 20, at the Chamber of Commerce.

If you’d like to learn more about the Tourism Council or have ideas or updates to share at any time, please contact me.

Thank you,

Tony Sapienza
Chair, Tourism Council
Blue Shutters Beachside Inn