Central Mass. tourist attractions ready for a busy summer
Great Wolf Lodge had become the world's largest chain of indoor water parks, but the company knew it was missing something: a presence in America's most densely populated region.
Fitchburg had a fledgling water park that had changed hands twice since 2008, with the associated hotel having been branded as a Best Western, Courtyard by Marriott and Holiday Inn within a four-year span.
The wooded site along Route 31 would allow Great Wolf to quickly get a foothold within an easy drive of Boston and most of New England's other major cities, said resort CEO Kim Schaefer, while the Wisconsin-based company would provide the 45-acre property with something it desperately needed: a little continuity.
After $50 million of work — which doubled the size of both the hotel and water park — the marriage was formally consummated Thursday with a grand-opening ceremony.
The addition of Great Wolf Lodge — and the equivalent of 400 full-time jobs — foreshadows yet another busy summer tourism season in Central Massachusetts.
After dipping at the start of the recession, domestic travel spending in Worcester County grew from $648 million in 2009 to $771 million in 2012, the most recent year for which data is available. Middlesex County enjoyed similar success, with travel spending increasing from $1.86 billion to $2.26 billion, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
Target market
Central Massachusetts' tourism marketing efforts tend to focus on educated couples with a median income of greater than $75,000, said Donna McCabe, president of the Central Massachusetts Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Specifically, she said the advertising targets females — who tend to make a family's travel decisions — as well as travelers older than 50, who are typically more interested in the history the region has to offer.
And hotels in Worcester tend to do brisk business during the summer, with June and August being two of the three best months for room occupancy over each of the past two years, according to Smith Travel Research.
“We're a great value for a family looking to get away,” McCabe said.
But it won't be just families coming to Central Massachusetts this summer.
More than 7,000 people are expected to fill the DCU Center — along with Worcester's hotel rooms and restaurants — Friday and Saturday for the state Democratic Party convention.
Worcester hopes to capitalize on all these visitors by offering them a dedicated travel website, plus special deals on local attractions, said Christina Andreoli, vice president of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“This is great,” she said. “This is what we live for.”
OSV remains major draw
Even though Old Sturbridge Village is open year round, it attracts three out of every eight visitors to the area during the summer.
Of the 102,000 visitors that passed through the gates of the living history museum between June and August 2013, more than half were from Massachusetts, nearly a quarter from Connecticut, and most of the rest were from New York, Rhode Island or New Hampshire, according to museum data (many travelers declined to reveal their whereabouts).
And the wedding market has become an even bigger business since the opening of 39 hotel rooms adjacent to the museum in June 2013, president and CEO James Donahue said. More than 65 weddings are scheduled for OSV in 2014, Donahue said, noting the museum has banquet space available for both larger and smaller events.
Even during the most sweltering summer days, Donahue said he hears virtually no complaints. OSV offers plenty of ways to beat the heat, he said, from ferryboat rides to air-conditioned buildings to a plethora of hydration stations.
And while the summer represents the off season for some destinations, it still shouldn't be written off.
Summer at the slopes
Wachusett Mountain Ski Area attracts roughly 50,000 of its 450,000 annual visitors between May and October, when the slopes are closed, according to Tom Meyers, director of marketing.
What's bringing them in?
Myriad music festivals and other public activities take place virtually every weekend between mid-August and the start of ski season, Meyers said. The biggest is AppleFest, which is expected to bring in at least 12,000 people in October.
“The more events and activities we have, the more steady employment we can offer,” Meyers said.
Wachusett employs more than 1,000 during the ski season, but has just 40 year-round workers.
Between May and August, Wachusett is primarily home to weddings — 40 are taking place at the mountain this summer — as well as meetings and company outings ranging in size from 30 to 2,000 people.
Wachusett has added a few public events earlier in the summer, Meyers said, but is aware the mountains aren't high on people's radar during warm weather.
“In the summer, people in this region look toward the ocean and the beaches,” he said.
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