New District Would Boost Tourism Marketing On Cape

ORLEANS – With its many beaches, great food and classic New England charm, Cape Cod is known the world round as a vacation destination. But when it comes to promoting the region, the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce doesn’t have much to work with budget wise.

Paul Niedzwicki, the regional chamber’s CEO, told the Orleans select board last month that the chamber has between $500,000 and $600,000 to spend on marketing tourism, a figure that pales in comparison to the millions of dollars that are spent in other areas.

“Massachusetts has historically under-invested in travel and tourism,” Niedzwicki told the board Dec. 13. “If you look at surrounding states like Maine, Rhode Island, New York, you see how much more they spend as a percentage of their budget marketing their states for travel and tourism.”

But the regional chamber hopes that the creation of a new marketing district can help it and the Cape’s local chambers of commerce generate more revenue to better promote all that the region has to offer.

The select board voted 5-0 in support of the creation of a tourism destination marketing district. If adopted, Niedzwicki estimated that as much as $3.5 million in additional revenue could be generated for marketing through a surcharge tacked onto local hotel and motel bills.

An economic development bill that passed through the state legislature in 2021 allowed for the creation of the marketing districts in Massachusetts. They’re also gaining traction nationwide, with 201 such districts currently in operation across the country.

The surcharge would apply to all hotels and motels across the Cape with 15 or more rooms, which Niedzwicki said amounts to 176 total properties. It’s required that 62 percent of those qualifying hoteliers agree to the surcharge in order for the district to be created.

“They vote to self assess themselves, and that will bring in sort of a sustainable revenue stream to help promote the Cape from a tourism and marketing perspective,” Niedzwicki said.

The chamber is currently in the process of garnering support from select boards across the Cape. Niedzwicki said ideally, all 15 Cape communities will vote in support of the district’s creation, but it is not required. The town of Barnstable, which boasts more than 50 qualifying hotels and motels, would serve as the lead town in the effort. As such, it would give the final vote on behalf of all the participating communities.

The districts might be relatively new in Massachusetts, but communities that have adopted them thus far are already seeing significant gains in their marketing capital. One such district representing Boston/Cambridge has boosted its tourism and marketing budget from $7.4 million in 2019 to $21.3 million in 2022.

And more communities are considering adopting their own marketing districts, Niedzwicki said, including those closer to the Cape. He said Plymouth, Springfield and areas north of Boston are also looking at creating their own districts, and he added that $50 million to $60 million in additional revenue statewide for traveling and tourism promotion could be unlocked in the next 18 to 24 months.

“We really think Cape Cod should be a part of that, and not become less competitive because of the efforts of other parts of the state,” he told the select board.

Niedzwicki said on average, established marketing districts see a 2 percent increase in reservations and a 4.5 percent increase in revenues. That additional revenue would also bolster the amount that hotels and motels contribute to the Cape and Islands Water Protection Trust Fund, he said.

On the Cape, a district also could help bring more people to local hotels and motels during the offseason, Niedzwicki said.

“Targeted promotions can help to smooth seasonal swings,” he said.

A steering committee leading the effort behind forming the Cape district favors a 1.5 percent surcharge. On a $250 hotel room, that would amount to a fee of $3.50.

The funding generated through the surcharge would be divided into three areas, including 60 percent for sales, marketing and “destination development.” Niedzwicki said $10,000 would be given to each local chamber, as well as an additional $10 for every qualifying hotel room in that town.

Niedzwicki said local chambers could use that funding to create incentives for staying at local hotels, such as offering gift certificates for local shops to guests.

“The local chambers do some really fantastic things, and they do a lot of things better than the regional chamber could,” he said.

In the future, electric vehicle charging stations also could be used to incentivize travelers to stay locally. Niedzwicki said the Cape chamber is seeing growing demand for EV accommodations in the region.

“This summer was the first summer at the chamber that we got several emails of people complaining that there aren’t enough charging stations,” he said.

And with plans advancing to replace the Bourne and Sagamore bridges , Niedzwicki said that 60 percent could also be used to counter concerns that might rise regarding what replacing the spans might mean for traffic. He said the replacements would have an “almost negligible impact on traffic” compared to continued maintenance of the existing spans.

Another 25 percent of the surcharge revenue would be used to help address the need for more workforce housing on the Cape. The remaining 15 percent would be used to cover administrative costs and help build a reserve account, Niedzwicki said.

In Orleans, there are five qualifying hotels/motels that would take on the surcharge if the district is adopted. Judy Lindahl, executive director of the Orleans Chamber of Commerce, said that early conversations in town about creating the district have been “well received.”

Lauren Barker, the Cape chamber’s director of government relations, said in a follow up email that there are nine qualifying hotels/motels in Chatham, six in Harwich and one in Brewster.

“We have been working closely with the local chambers of commerce, and overall they have been great partners and a valuable resource in their respective communities,” she said. “They are generally open-minded and have wanted to learn more about the concept of a TDMD, how these have worked in other parts of the country, and the potential benefits for their towns and the region.”

After each Cape town individually votes on whether or not to support the proposed district, the Cape chamber will begin the process of gathering signatures of support from qualifying hoteliers. With the support of at least 62 percent of those hoteliers, a petition would be sent to the state legislature to allow for the creation of the district.

While the select board was unanimous in its support for creating the district, board chair Michael Herman was careful to point out that the town’s participation is still in the hands of the five qualifying hotel/motels.

“That’s something I want to be clear on,” he said. “We’re not forcing the hotels to do this in any way, but giving them the opportunity should they choose that we will support this.”

“This is a great thing in terms of attracting people to the Cape,” said Andrea Reed of the select board.

Email Ryan Bray at ryan@capecodchronicle.com