Governor Encourages Cultural Venues to Band Together
 Ellen Spear, president of Hancock Shaker Village, gave the governor a brief tour before the meeting. He later attended the Massachusetts Teachers Assocation's annual meeting at Williams College and a campaign event in Adams. |
That was the message from Gov. Deval Patrick and Betsy Wall, executive director of the Office of Travel and Tourism, on Monday at a tourism roundtable at Hancock Shaker Village.
More than 60 local officials and representatives from the region's many economic, cultural and hospitality organizations and venues gathered on the second floor of the historic Meetinghouse to discuss ideas and hopes for more state funding for the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Wall said the latest numbers available show some $337 million in direct expenditures in Berkshire County, just from tourism. "That's a very, very important part of the Massachusetts development picture," she said. "We're working hard to ensure everyone has a good season."
The numbers look good: the state is significantly outpacing the rest of the nation in lodging, for instance. While lodging is up 10 percent nationwide, it's up 14 percent in the Bay State and an astounding 28 percent in Berkshire County as of June. Massachusetts is also leading in attracting international visitors, coming in sixth behind such destinations as Las Vegas.
The state is putting its investments into international marketing (particularly Canada next year) as well as local day-trippers, as 35 percent of tourists already live here.
"We're going to be doing new marketing with foliage because I've just about had it with those other states ...," said Wall, whose statement was greeted with applause. Massachusetts is also the only New England state that's gathering data on who's coming here, where they're going and how much they're spending. "We're investing where we know people go, when they spend more money and when they stay longer."
Those investments will have to be the bridge to better times, said the governor, because cuts to the Cultural Council won't be restored soon. The expected $665 million from the federal government in Medicaid program reimbursements will go toward Chapter 70 education funds and human services programs. Still, the Bay State's credit rating is top notch and it's among the top states whose economies are improving rapidly at twice the national rate.
 MOTT director Betsey Wall delivered the good news that lodging is in Berkshire County this year, nearly triple the national rate. |
That's meant tough decisions, including cuts across the board and the loss of some 3,000 state jobs as the state tries to manage a structural deficit of $2 billion.
"We have had to make some very difficult decisions, but there's also opportunities," he continued. "Think about different partnerships, think about different methodologies."
The governor again brought up the concept of the Edinburgh International Festival, the three-week long event that brings together a wide variety cultural events along with the "fringe" events that now lengthen the season. He'd mentioned the festival as a model at last year's larger roundtable in North Adams.
Berkshire organizations are already doing some of the partnering he suggested — from the American Icons of Rockwell Museum, Shaker Village and Chesterwood to Tanglewood's combined marketing to Berkshire Grown to the ticket-promotions between the theaters.
"North Street is coming back to life but it's based on bringing in people from out of the area," said Leslie Ferrin of Ferrin Gallery. She and Sienna Patti, of Sienna Gallery in Lenox, put together ArtBerkshires, linked to exhibits in the galleries but promoting weekends that included talks and tours of other venues. "It was kind of a guerrilla tactic," she said. "Do the website, do Facebook; don't ask for permission, just do it."
Other discussions included agricultural tourism, marketing more for outdoor activities, how to partner in terms of geographical locations and how to help visitors sift through the Berkshire Visitors Bureau's 750 members to tailor their own trips.
 Innkeeper Eiran Gazit of Lenox urged the state to think outside the box next year and offer a sales or lodging tax holiday midweek. |
He's also expecting to sign a bill later Tuesday that will allow small businesses to aggregate in buying health-care insurance, thus giving it some of the same leverage on pricing as the state and large companies, and offering guarantees to community banks to loosen up loans.
Innkeeper Eiran Gazit of the Cornell in Lenox, had a more immediate way to drum up business: offer a lodging tax holiday in the middle of the week rather than a sales tax on the weekend. "We are suffering from a lack of guests [during the week] and it's insane on the weekend."
"Let's think different; let's attack this thing. You're doing it anyway," he said. "So next year, let's advertise ... in New York they have to know those three or four days Massachusetts is giving away free stuff.
"We'll make much more in income — which we'll gladly pay in income tax."
