Johnny Appleseed Trail Association to offer region’s first Tourism Update Breakfast

Forum to bring together tourism related businesses and organizations in the region

The Johnny Appleseed Trail Association (JATA) and the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce are pleased to announce the first Tourism Update Breakfast being held on Thursday, March 31, 2016 at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area, 499 Mountain Road, Princeton, MA. This exciting and fast paced breakfast event features industry experts who will share their professional insights on marketing North Central Massachusetts.

Mark Preston, of TripAdvisor, will discuss reputation branding and utilizing resources afforded online.  While serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small community in the Andes Mountains in Ecuador 15 years ago, Mark learned the true power and influence travel and tourism can have on a local economy.   Since that time, Mark has leveraged those learnings across his career.  As an 8-year veteran of TripAdvisor Media Group, Mark has helped strategically plan and customize online campaigns for partners worldwide; ranging from well-known airlines such as United, Continental and American Airlines to Online Travel Agencies like Hotwire, Booking.com, and Agoda.

North Central’s own Jeff Crowley, President of Wachusett Mountain Ski Area will provide an industry update and highlight the ski area’s marketing efforts.  Wachusett Mountain Ski Area is a leader in winter sports in New England with more than 50 years in the ski industry.  The Ski Area has grown exponentially since its inception in the 1970’s with the addition of trails, faster lifts and changes to the rental shop.  As one of three second-generation owners, Jeff will also discuss the Mountain’s impact and partnerships which support tourism growth throughout North Central Massachusetts.

Tony D’Agostino, has been with the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism for more than ten years as the Director of Research. In that time, Tony’s main projects have been related to studying the volume of tourists, visitors and the economic impact of tourism spending in Massachusetts. These reports support the marketing initiatives and activities of the sixteen regional tourism councils across the Commonwealth.  Tony’s presentation will highlight visitor trends, top visitor markets and the impact of tourism for the state and region.

“Tourism is important to the future of North Central Massachusetts and plays an increasingly important role in our local economy” said Roy Nascimento, president of the Johnny Appleseed Trail Association. “We are hosting this Tourism Update Breakfast as a way to bring tourism related stakeholders in the region together to share best practices, learn new trends in the industry and to take advantage of new opportunities to better market local businesses and the region to visitors.”

The Tourism Update Breakfast is open to all community members and will run from 7:30 am to 9:30 am. The cost is just $20 for JATA and North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce members/$30 for non-members and includes a breakfast buffet. Registration can be done online at www.northcentralmass.com. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, please contact the Chamber at 978-353-7600 ext. 235 or visit www.northcentralmass.com