MASSACHUSETTS, the most prominent New England state and gateway to the region through its capital Boston, is focusing more attention on promoting its own 13 distinct areas.
Known as the Bay State due to its geographical position on the Eastern Seaboard, Massachusetts has just completed its third regional sales mission in the UK within the last 12 months.
Areas covered included Cape Cod, the northern region between Boston and the New Hampshire border, and more recently the Berkshires in the west of the state.
Fred Clifford, director Europe for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, who led the latest sales delegation, said the state aimed to become a destination in its own right.
More than 300,000 Britons visit Massachusetts each year, with Boston taking the lion’s share of room nights due to its growing popularity as a city-break destination.
Clifford said: “We are now trying to aggressively sell Massachusetts as a stand-alone brand separate from New England. We are spending $1m in in the UK market on print and radio advertising campaigns, and the intention is to get clients to add on extra days to a visit to Boston and get out into the regions.”
However, he added that Massachusetts would remain an equal financial partner in the Discover New England marketing consortium of six states.
Clifford said Cape Cod was already well known in the UK as a resort destination, while the mountainous region of the Berkshires was a top cultural attraction combined with plenty of opportunities for soft adventure, including hiking, biking, canoeing and white-water rafting. The area is rich in the arts, and is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood.
Another region to fall under the promotional spotlight will be the area north of Boston, including Salem – renowned for its Halloween celebrations and the infamous witch trials of 1692 – the fishing village of Gloucester, and Rockport.
With eight daily nonstop flights between London and Boston alone, the state tourism office hopes to build on seasonal traffic away from the most popular fall season, which Clifford said sells itself.
“The launch of United Airlines onto the route earlier this month has triggered off a mini fares war and prices have been good since January,” he said.
The wealth of air service has prompted the Massachusetts tourism office to enter into a cooperative marketing and advertising campaign with Bermuda Tourism to launch a combined Boston and Bermuda city and resort product. It is expected to begin in May.
Clifford said: “We want to sell tour operators the idea of creating a two-centre package with the first three days in Boston followed by four nights in Bermuda. Both destinations talk to the same audiences.”
Prestige Holidays has already introduced Boston add-ons to its Bermuda programme with three nights in the US city from around ú300.