State provides $100,000 funding to local visitor centers

Published on Friday, November 14, 2008

Local visitor centers on Cape Cod will now be able to operate more frequently and effectively due to $100,000 in funding from the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism. The grant will be managed by the Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber. Representative Eric Turkington spearheaded this project, with Senate President Therese Murray, Representative Sarah Peake, and the entire Cape legislative delegation putting their full support behind the joint initiative.

Eleven Chambers collaborated to provide for the expansion of operation of downtown and highway information centers that direct hundreds of thousands of tourism referrals to locally owned businesses and attractions of every kind, including the hospitality industry, art organizations, artists, museums, and cultural entities.

Participating Chambers include the Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber, Brewster Chamber, Chatham Chamber, Dennis Chamber, Eastham Chamber, Falmouth Chamber, Harwich Chamber, Hyannis Area Chamber, Mashpee Chamber, Orleans Chamber, and Yarmouth Area Chamber.

Jim Russo, Executive Director of the Eastham Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the impact the funding will have on tourism: “Information centers serve as gateways into each community. Tourism impacts the local economy year round and documents the correlation between business referrals and dollars spent in the community. This investment will result in more dollars coming back into the State, and each individual Cape Cod town.”

Local chambers are non-profit corporations that raise money to operate these public amenities. The joint project also includes reciprocal guidebook distribution and referrals, providing a quality of service expected by the visitor, and in recent years, operating more frequently during the shoulder season.