Speaking of international, according to Skift, February marked the first time in 9 consecutive months that the US saw an increase in international arrivals, driven largely by Asian markets including China, Japan, and South Korea. Boston saw some of that impact but, like everything these days, it’s a volatile chart and one that defies easy prediction. In our market, for example, last February was actually very strong with the Four Nations event and ISU World Figure Skating Championships. And what the US saw as a whole in February may not manifest in March as gas prices surge and air space restrictions remain in place over the Gulf. It is all very unclear, but we will do our best to share data points and trends.
Overall, our March numbers should be strong with the Volleyball tournament that happened this month and the Seafood Expo delivering as it typically does. Shoutout to our Destination Services team for their seamless work executing these big events, which collectively involved more than 40,000 attendees and generated nearly 60,000 room nights.
All eyes were on Gillette this week as the Road to 26 arrived in Massachusetts for a marquee matchup between France and Brazil. This was a great test run for us ahead of June and with the French team also playing a Group Stage match here, we were thrilled to have them in town. We all know that Boston will be the place to be this summer so if you’re hosting any kind of event, activation, watch party or festival we want to know! Please submit any events via the Hub - events and offers will be included on various pages across our site. Additionally, if you’re a hotel partner, please take 5 minutes to complete this survey if you haven’t already, which will help us better understand hotel room blocks for FIFA.
Finally, it was very inspirational to attend an event at the Boston Public Library last week to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Evacuation Day in Boston. The event featured American Historian Heather Cox Richardson, along with remarks from Governor Healey and Mayor Wu. While we’ve been celebrating Boston’s pivotal role in the American Revolution for many years now, this was a great culmination of that anniversary arc. It was particularly poignant, during Women’s History Month, to hear from our elected leaders and be reminded of the spirit and thought leadership that has defined this destination for nearly four centuries. I was honored to attend.
