A recap of efforts through the fall from the Chamber’s destination marketing arm, Visit North Central Massachusetts (VNCM).

Strategic Marketing Plan Implementation & State Grant Status

As we reported in the Fall edition, Visit North Central Massachusetts completed our comprehensive FY2026 marketing strategy and submitted our annual matching tourism grant request to the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT). We received notification of our grant award amount in late October; however, as of this printing – nearly five months into the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2025- we have not yet received our contract or matching funding.

This delay in contracting and matching funding impacted our marketing efforts during the Fall season. We adapted by covering some advertising costs upfront while awaiting state matching funds and strategically deferring other planned campaigns. Fortunately, our Mass250 grant allowed us to maintain some momentum through active advertising campaigns that helped bridge the gap created by the delay in our regular annual matching grant from the state’s tourism trust fund. We remain committed to making up ground during the Winter months and positioning ourselves strongly for the Spring and Summer tourism seasons.

We appreciate the state’s partnership and look forward to receiving our contract and funding so we can fully execute our marketing efforts that drive economic impact for our member businesses and communities.

Why Tourism Matters to North Central Massachusetts

Tourism is far more than a single industry – it’s a catalyst for community vitality. When you build a place where people want to visit, you’ve built a place where people want to live, work, and invest. Every visitor we attract becomes a potential business lead, future resident, or investor who experiences our region’s unique assets and becomes an ambassador for North Central Massachusetts. This is why our strategic marketing efforts don’t just drive immediate economic impact – they build long-term awareness and prosperity for our communities and members.

Website Performance

For the first four months of fiscal year 2026 (July 1 through October 31, 2025), VisitNorthCentral.com, our tourism affiliate site, attracted 18,683 users (down 68.1% compared to the same period in FY25) and generated 34,275 pageviews (down 63.6% year-over-year). Impressions totaled 1,012,127 (down 22.0% year-over-year). These significant declines directly reflect the impact of delayed state matching funding, which prevented us from launching our planned digital advertising campaigns at the start of the fiscal year. As we receive funding and execute our winter and spring marketing initiatives, we expect to see digital engagement increase.

Social Media Performance

For the first four months of fiscal year 2026 (July 1 through October 31, 2025), we maintained strong organic social media presence, building a community that actively engages with content about regional attractions, events, and member businesses. Our combined social media following across Facebook and Instagram now totals over 49,000 followers.

On Facebook, we achieved impressive results with post impressions of 885,441 (up 137% year-over-year) and a total reach of 45,173 followers (up 9.4% year-over-year). Post reactions increased 56.1% to 2,314, link clicks surged 69.4% to 2,060, and comments nearly doubled with a 93.1% increase to 195. On Instagram, post impressions reached 121,148 (up 85.4% year-over-year) with 3,821 followers (up 19.7% year-over-year). Post shares increased 24.2% to 221. These strong organic social media results demonstrate the effectiveness of our content strategy, even during a period when funding delays limited paid advertising campaigns.

PlayEasy Performance

Through our partnership with PlayEasy, the platform connecting youth and amateur sports organizers with regional venues and hotels, we’ve seen continued engagement in November 2025. The VNCM profile received 981 views with 95 visitors, facility listings generated 1,586 views with 896 visitors, attraction pages received 77 views with 33 visitors, and event listings attracted 1,227 views with 625 visitors. This specialized sports tourism platform continues to create measurable connections between sporting events and our member hospitality businesses.

Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center

The Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center welcomed 11,842 visitors in September and 14,575 visitors in October, bringing the calendar year 2025 total to 105,493 visitors through October 31. These impressive numbers reflect the center’s role as a gateway to our region and a key touchpoint for introducing visitors to member businesses and regional attractions.

Throughout the fall, we hosted our popular Showcase Events series at the Visitor Center—weekend celebrations featuring live music, henna tattoos, apple cider donuts, alpacas, handmade crafts, face painting, and much more. These family-friendly events, which took place on weekends throughout August, September, and October, were well-attended and showcased the rich culture and community spirit of North Central Massachusetts. We thank the local cultural councils in North Central Massachusetts for helping to sponsor these events.

Lodging Performance

According to the latest lodging reports from STR and AirDNA for July through September 2025, the North Central Massachusetts lodging market faced headwinds. For hotels in the region, occupancy was 71.9% (down 4.3% year-over-year), with an average daily rate (ADR) of $164.20 (down 2.2%) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) of $117.98 (down 6.4%). The hotel market generated $14.7 million in revenue, down 6.4% from the prior year.

Short-term rentals in the North Central Massachusetts region showed more positive momentum, with occupancy at 58.0% (down 4.8% year-over-year), but ADR of $130.72 (up 9.4%) and RevPAR of $75.85 (up 4.1%). Regional short-term rentals generated $1.9 million in revenue, representing a 21.5% increase year-over-year.

These trends underscore the importance of our marketing efforts in maintaining visitor engagement and supporting local hospitality businesses during a challenging environment.

Local Option Tax Collections

Local option meals tax collections for July through September 2025 totaled $723,100, up 46.2% year-over-year, while room tax collections reached $799,500, up 13.7% year-over-year. These increases are most likely attributable to several communities adopting local option meals taxes and increasing their room tax rates in 2025, which significantly impact year-over-year comparisons. These tax revenues directly support local government services and we track them as indicators of visitor spending patterns and tourism’s economic impact on our communities.

Visitor Profile

New visitor data from July through September 2025 provides valuable insights into who is visiting North Central Massachusetts. Domestic visitors stayed an average of 1.3 days, with 66.5% staying overnight and 44.5% being repeat visitors. Our top visitor origin states were Massachusetts (15.5%), Connecticut (11.3%), New York (9.7%), and Maine (9.4%). The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area accounted for 8.1% of visitors, followed by New York-Newark-Jersey City (7.3%) and Providence-Warwick (6.8%).

International visitors from January through September 2025 stayed longer, averaging 2.2 days with 79.6% staying overnight. Canada led international markets at 81.2% overnight rate, followed by Brazil, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. These visitor profiles help us refine our marketing strategies to reach high-value audiences and better align with state tourism priorities.

Looking Ahead

As we head into 2026, we’re focused on executing the marketing plan we developed for FY2026, with particular emphasis on making up ground from the delayed state funding. Our MA250 campaigns continue to deliver results, showcasing the region’s revolutionary history, culinary scene, outdoor recreation, and innovative communities to audiences across New England.

Strategic media partnerships with AAA, Hearst, Boston Magazine, Yankee Magazine, Edible Boston, TripAdvisor, and PlayEasy will amplify our winter and spring campaigns. We’re building on our digital momentum with enhanced content for group travel, sports tourism, and seasonal attractions.

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Showcase your brand in the upcoming Spring/Summer Guide to North Central Massachusetts – the region’s premier lifestyle and tourism publication that captures the essence of our vibrant region. This stunning, full-color magazine reaches an engaged audience of residents, visitors, and business leaders who are actively exploring everything our dynamic region has to offer.

Why advertise with us?

• Premium Distribution: 35,000+ copies strategically placed across 200+ high-traffic locations
• Maximum Exposure: Featured at the bustling Johnny Appleseed Visitors Center on Route 2, 46 AAA offices statewide, numerous locations throughout the region and beyond, and posted online
• Targeted Reach: Connect with affluent readers actively seeking local experiences, services, and businesses
• Lasting Impact: Our high-quality, glossy format ensures your ad maintains its visual appeal throughout the season

Don’t wait – prime advertising spaces are filling fast! Secure your spot in this influential publication by contacting Diane Burnette today.

Email:

Position your business where it deserves to be – at the forefront of North Central Massachusetts’ most trusted guide to regional excellence.

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Record-Breaking Tourism Growth

North Central Massachusetts continues to grow as a premier New England destination, with visitor spending reaching an impressive $496.9 million in CY2023—a 1.1% increase from 2022 and a remarkable 19.7% jump from 2019. The results come from a new economic impact study recently unveiled by the state. Our thriving tourism sector now supports 4,300 local jobs and generates $117.3 million in direct earnings, while contributing $8.2 million in local tax revenue and $33 million in state taxes. Our tourism impact extends deeper into the local economy through indirect spending, creating a powerful multiplier effect. When local hospitality, restaurants and other businesses in the local visitor economy thrive then they in turn invest in various local services and suppliers further contributing to our region’s economic growth.

Expanding Our Reach & Regional Partnerships & Media Engagement

We have strengthened our “Super Region” collaboration with two neighboring regional tourism councils (Discover Central MA and MetroWest Boston Visitors Bureau), launching an innovative off-season marketing campaign. Through partnerships with CM Communications, a specialized Boston-based PR agency, we have hosted regional travel writer press trips and we also participated again in the Dream Destinations Travel Show this past fall, positioning our region as a must-visit destination.

Digital Presence & Engagement

Our social media impact continues to grow. From July 1, 2024 through the first week of November, our Visit North Central Massachusetts Facebook page had a total reach of 470,665, a 24.2% increase over the same timeframe the previous year. Our Facebook channel also attracted 6,000 new followers. In addition, the page also had 9,145 content interactions and 8,767 link clicks during the same timeframe. On Instagram, the page achieved a reach of 19,226 and we gained 167 new followers. We also had 2,323 content interactions and 259 link clicks during the same timeframe. From July 1, 2024 to the end of October, VisitNorthCentral.com saw continued growth with 58,500+ visitors, an 89% increase over the same timeframe the previous year, and 93,700+ pageviews, a 60% increase.

Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center Updates

Thanks to funding from several local cultural councils, we were able to successfully host our “Saturday Showcase” initiative again during weekends this fall season at the Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center. These popular events highlighted local culture and experiences in the region through an engaging mix of activities. Visitors enjoyed musical performances, meet-and-greets with local authors, face painting, arts and crafts demonstrations, and even visits from alpacas from local farms, among many other memorable experiences.

On the infrastructure front, we’ve completed important improvements in partnership with MassDOT to ensure reliable year-round service at the center. Recent upgrades include a new furnace and building generator installation. Additionally, we are excited to announce that several fast-charging EV car stations will soon be installed at the center as part of a national infrastructure initiative to expand charging stations along major highways. This addition will help us better serve the growing number of electric vehicle travelers along Route 2.

Guide to North Central

The Fall/Winter edition of the Guide to North Central Massachusetts was published in September and is continuing to see strong demand.  This publication is a glossy, full color magazine which we publish to showcase our region through compelling stories and strong visuals.  In collaboration with Sitka Creations, we are currently working on the 2025 Spring/Summer edition. Members interested in advertising should contact the Chamber to reserve an ad.

Email Newsletter

Our new quarterly visitor opt-in electronic newsletter now reaches over 3,200 subscribers, maintaining an impressive 44% open rate and 8% click-through rate—above industry standards.

Branding & Advertising

We are launching two exciting tourism campaigns for North Central Massachusetts, supported by grants from the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism and the Massachusetts 250th Anniversary celebration. Running from January through June 2025, these strategic initiatives will showcase our region’s unique attractions and rich heritage to visitors from both nearby states and across the region.

Our Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism campaign leverages an integrated approach combining targeted print and digital media. The campaign’s messaging continues to emphasize our region’s convenient location and authentic New England charm with compelling taglines such as “Everything You Love About New England… A Lot Closer to Home” and “Drive To, Not Through, North Central MA.” These messages position our region as a destination worth exploring rather than simply passing through.

In parallel, our Massachusetts 250th Anniversary campaign celebrates our region’s revolutionary spirit and ongoing transformation. Through carefully crafted messaging like “North Central Massachusetts is Revolutionary” and “North Central Massachusetts: A Region in Revolution,” we’ll highlight our area’s significant role in both historical and modern revolutions. From our pivotal contributions to the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions to today’s vibrant economic and cultural renaissance, the campaign tells the story of a region that continues to evolve while honoring its historic roots in the agricultural and industrial revolution.

Photography & Visual Content

We coordinated a series of professional photo shoots to capture the authentic character and vibrant offerings of North Central Massachusetts. Our shoots showcased four of the region’s most iconic attractions and fourteen distinctive local restaurants, creating a rich library of compelling visuals. These new images beautifully portray the unique experiences awaiting visitors to our region, from historic landmarks to contemporary dining destinations. The fresh photography will enhance our marketing efforts across our website, social media channels, email campaigns, and printed materials, helping us tell our region’s story in a more engaging and visually appealing way.

We’re always eager to expand our visual storytelling capabilities. If your business or attraction has high-quality photos that capture the spirit of North Central Massachusetts, we’d love to feature them in our marketing initiatives. Whether it’s seasonal events, behind-the-scenes moments, or stunning views of your location, sharing your images helps us showcase the full breadth of experiences our region offers. Please contact the Chamber to learn more.

New Sports Tourism Opportunity

We have partnered with Playeasy, a comprehensive digital platform connecting sports event organizers with local venues and businesses. This “one-stop shop” streamlines event planning—from venue selection to hotel bookings—while showcasing our region’s facilities and attractions to organizers nationwide. The platform generates qualified leads for our member venues and businesses, creating new opportunities for our members.

We invite you to join us in promoting our region’s unique attractions and experiences. Stay tuned for more updates and opportunities to get involved!

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As we conclude the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, the Chamber is pleased to share this update of our tourism affiliate Visit North Central Massachusetts (VNCM). This report highlights our marketing efforts, achievements, and future plans to promote our region as a premier destination.

Branding & Advertising

Our advertising strategy combined print and digital media across target markets, with messaging such as “Everything You Love About New England… A Lot Closer to Home.” and “Drive to, not through, North Central MA” through various channels, including:

• Paid social media campaigns via MassLive
• Search Engine Marketing through Local IQ
• Print/digital campaigns in Boston Magazine
• Digital and email campaign with AAA
• Digital bundle campaign with Yankee Publishing

These efforts showcased our region’s diverse attractions and increased web traffic, aiming to captivate potential visitors and encourage exploration of North Central Massachusetts.

Visitor Guide

We also published the Fall/Winter edition of the Guide to North Central Massachusetts, a popular glossy, full-color magazine aimed at informing and inspiring readers. It showcases the region as a unique destination for living, working, and visiting. We printed 40,000 copies per edition and distributed them to 350 high-traffic locations throughout New England through AAA and CTM Media Group. A digital version is also shared on our website, social media, via email, and shared with the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) to maximize its reach and engagement.

FAM Trips & Travel Shows

We actively participated in Familiarization Trips & Travel Shows. We also continued our “Super Region” collaboration with two other Central Massachusetts Regional Tourism Councils (Discover Central MA and MetroWest Boston Visitors Bureau), implementing an off-season marketing campaign. We hosted two regional travel writer press trips in January and March to assist us with generating more interest in the region among the travel media and other travel influencers. We have several advertising campaigns underway and are working with CM Communications, a Boston-based PR Agency that specializes in destination marketing. Our participation in the Dream Destination Travel Show in October also further promoted our region as a desirable travel destination.

Social Media

We maintained a strong presence on social media throughout the year. From January 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024, our Visit North Central Massachusetts Facebook page had a total reach of 500,291, a 21% decrease over the previous six months, but a 17% increase over the same timeframe the previous year. Our Facebook channel also attracted 4,068 new followers, an 11.66% increase over the previous six months. In addition, the page also had 7,400 content interactions and 12,600 link clicks during the same timeframe. Paid reach was 250,017 and 1,395,876 paid impressions. On Instagram, the page achieved a reach of 43,700, a 33.9% decrease over the previous six months, but a 250% increase over the same timeframe the previous year. We gained 419 new followers, had 2,300 content interactions and 1,200 link clicks during the same timeframe.

Website

Our tourism website, Visitnorthcentral.com, has experienced growth in traffic for FY24. Google Analytics indicates that our website experienced a 44.5% increase in pageviews; a 51.1% increase in sessions; and a 48.1% increase in unique users from January 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024, when compared to the same timeframe in 2023. During the same time period, we also had over 1,587,649 Google impressions. Additionally, we are actively aligning the content of Visit North Central’s seasonal landing pages with our SEO strategy to maintain consistency with our SEM campaign efforts.

Lodging & Other Data

STR data through June indicates that YTD hotel occupancy was 73.6%, a 2.6% increase over the previous year; ADR was $187.81, which is a 1.8% decrease; RevPar was $138.21, a 0.8% increase over the previous year; total room revenue was down 3.8%; and rooms sold was down 2.1%. AirDNA data indicates that short-term rentals in the region have continued to trend upwards, growing from 4.4% of total lodging revenue in the region in FY23 to 5.7% in FY24. Research from Datafy indicates that the region had 4,428,731 trips in FY24 and 8,346,506 visitor days. Average length of stay in the region was 1.9 days and our top four origin markets were Boston; Hartford/New Haven; New York; and Providence-New Bedford.

Email Newsletter

We launched a quarterly Visit North Central Massachusetts (VNCM) subscription-based email newsletter to help promote the region to visitors. Our VNCM email list already has 3,117 subscribers and has an average open rate of 46% and click-through rate of 9%.

Looking Ahead

As we enter the Fall season, our focus remains on showcasing North Central Massachusetts as a premier destination for outdoor enthusiasts and those seeking authentic New England experiences. Our strategic approach includes:

• Enhancing our digital marketing presence
• Developing exciting seasonal itineraries
• Targeting the Route 2 corridor with geofenced ads
• Refreshing our website homepage for improved user experience
• Continuing to highlight outdoor attractions and traditional New England experiences

We’re implementing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, including paid search, social media advertising, targeted YouTube ads, and organic engagement. By combining these strategies, we aim to engage a broader audience and demonstrate the unique benefits of visiting North Central Massachusetts.

We invite you to join us in promoting our region’s unique attractions and experiences. Stay tuned for more updates and opportunities to get involved!

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Here is a recap of efforts over the Winter from the Chamber’s destination marketing arm, Visit North Central Massachusetts (VNCM).

Advertising & Promotion

Throughout the Winter, we continued to promote the region with a blend of print and digital advertising strategies across our target markets. The creative messaging for these ads focuses on “Everything You Love About New England… A Lot Closer to Home”. We also encouraged travelers to visit the region with the tag: “Drive to, not through, North Central MA.” To achieve this, we focused on developing fresh and engaging content for our website. This included creating captivating Blog Articles as well as compiling a comprehensive listing of upcoming events. To attract more visitors from the drive market, we implemented a range of strategies combining both print, social media, paid search and digital advertising.

We invested in paid social media campaigns to reach a wider audience through MassLive; employed targeted and geofenced digital advertising to maximize our outreach through Cumulus; and utilized paid Search Engine Marketing techniques to improve our online visibility through Local IQ.  We also utilized print/digital campaigns through Boston Magazine and Boston Spirit; custom content listings and emails through Visit New England; and listings in Trip Advisor. All these efforts were carefully crafted to effectively showcase the diverse attractions and offerings of our region and to increase web traffic. By utilizing a combination of print and digital platforms, we aimed to captivate potential visitors and encourage them to explore the unique experiences available in North Central Massachusetts.

Visitor Guide

We published 40,000 copies of the Fall/Winter edition of the Guide to North Central Massachusetts, a popular glossy, full-color magazine aimed at informing and inspiring readers. It showcases the region as a unique destination for living, working, and visiting. The guide was distributed to over 300 high-traffic locations throughout New England and a digital version was also shared on our website, social media, via email, and shared with the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) to maximize its reach and engagement.  We are currently working on finalizing the Spring/Summer edition.

Fam Trips & Travel Shows

We actively participated in FAM Trips & Travel Shows. We partnered with MOTT to host a familiarization tour for US Travel Media to our region.  We also continued our collaboration with two other Regional Tourism Councils (Discover Central MA and MetroWest Boston Visitors Bureau), implementing an off-season marketing campaign funded from a federal grant. We have several advertising campaigns underway and are working with CM Communications, a Boston-based PR Agency that specializes in destination marketing, to assist us with generating more interest in the region among the travel media and other travel influencers.  We participated in the Dream Destinations Travel Show, American Bus Association Marketplace, and the North of Boston Tourism Summit to connect with tourism influencers and promote our region as a desirable travel destination.

Social Media & Website

From November 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024, Visit North Central Massachusetts’ Facebook page had a reach of 269,873, a 81.6% increase over the same time frame the previous year. Our Facebook channel also attracted 3,515 new followers, a 11.4% increase. Total followers are currently at 34,700.  In addition, the page also had 5,300 content interactions and 5,100 link clicks. Paid reach was 150,439 and 430,803 paid impressions. On Instagram, the page achieved a reach of 12,502, a 177.5% increase over the previous year, and gained 83 new followers for a total of 2,800. Our Instagram page also had 665 content interactions and 353 link clicks during the same timeframe.

Google analytics indicates that our website experienced a 21.5% increase in pageviews; a 27% increase in sessions; and a 24% increase in unique users from November 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 when compared to the same timeframe the previous year. During the same time period we also had over 485,417 google impressions.

Lodging & Visitor Data

Lodging data was also very strong.  Data from Smith Travel Research indicates that YTD hotel occupancy through December was 73.4%, a 5% increase over the previous year; ADR was $181.65 which is a 5% increase; RevPar was $133.43, a 10.3% increase over the previous year; total room revenue was up 9.6%; and rooms sold was up 5%. Data from Datafy indicates that our top four origin markets were Boston; Hartford/New Haven; New York; and Providence-New Bedford.

What’s Next

As we move into the winter and spring seasons, our main objective is to raise awareness and attract visitors to North Central Massachusetts. We will continue implementing our successful strategies that highlight the region’s outdoor attractions and showcase traditional New England experiences. With people seeking outdoor activities, we aim to provide them with exciting itineraries for seasonal adventures in North Central Massachusetts. To achieve our goals, we are continuing to focus on a more digital marketing approach. This includes incorporating various tactics such as paid search, paid social media advertising, geofenced ads targeting the Route 2 corridor, digital display and sponsored content ads, print ads, targeted YouTube advertising, branded content, and organic social media engagement. In addition, we are continuing to work on refreshing our home page to ensure it aligns with our updated marketing efforts and provides a captivating user experience. By combining these strategies, we aim to engage a broader audience and encourage them to explore the benefits of visiting North Central Massachusetts compared to our neighboring states.

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