December 10, 2021
Good Morning,
We were delighted to see so many of you at our Annual Event last week. It was wonderful to be together again, in person, with so many familiar faces and industry friends. We hope you enjoyed the conversation with US Travel President & CEO Roger Dow. We were so proud to end our program by presenting Tom Kershaw with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Big thanks to all of our sponsors and to David Fox for capturing so many spectacular photos. Please view the gallery.
Meetings such as our Annual Event are an essential part of the travel economy and its recovery. People need to network and reacquaint and be together. I asked Roger about the impact of meetings, both economically and personally, and he was resolute in his answer that only through in-person meetings can our sector truly recover. For that reason, and to amplify the undeniable economic impact of meetings, tradeshows, conferences, and incentive travel, US Travel has fully integrated with the Meetings Mean Business Coalition. I’m proud to be the incoming co-Chair of the Coalition starting in January.
We also worked with US Travel and Hearth Rhythm 2021 – the first full-scale business convention to return to Boston – to create a compelling case study on how large conferences can be held safely and successfully. The study demonstrates how eager these delegates were to return as in-person attendees. You can review the case study here.
While the emergence of the Omicron variant has people concerned, it’s important to underscore what the Hearty Rhythm study so clearly indicates – we are now in a place where we know how to safely hold events, we know what protocols and policies need to be in place, and this is critical. But it’s all predicated on the access we have to testing and other public health resources. I’ve become increasingly frustrated with the lack of free and unfettered access to COVID-19 testing in Boston. Our visitor market – both leisure and business – needs this access, as does our resident community of course. As Mayor Wu’s COVID-19 Advisory Committee begins its important work, we will be adamant that testing should be at the forefront of all mitigation efforts.
In closing, I want to mention another important committee that I’ve been asked to serve on. This week we had the inaugural meeting for the newly formed advisory committee for the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, which will occur in December of 2023. I’ve been asked to co-Chair the committee along with Chamber President Jim Rooney. We know how important these events are for the local economy – particularly with regional visitors – and we are excited to get to work!
Martha
Martha J. Sheridan
President & CEO
Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau
