The Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) has awarded the City of Chelsea a grant of $49,000 as part of its Travel and Tourism Recovery (TTR) Grant Program. It’s part of $4 million in awards to 80 tourism organizations, chambers of commerce, and municipalities to support the My Local MA campaign, enhance tourism recovery, and have the potential to increase non-resident visitation. The program’s goal is to strengthen the Massachusetts economy through the development and enhancement of the state’s tourism industry.
The City of Chelsea’s project is executed by the City’s Chelsea Prospers neighborhood initiative in partnership with the Chelsea Chamber of Commerce. “Discover Chelsea” is a digital marketing campaign to showcase the businesses and places of interest for visitors.
“There are about 4,000 hotel rooms near Chelsea, with roughly 900 within the city itself. While these visitors are primarily here because of our proximity to Logan Airport, they represent a notable, potential customer base for our local businesses,” said City Manager Tom Ambrosino.
Enabled by this grant is the creation of a web portal to meet the needs of visitors to Chelsea. A short promotional video will showcase the city. A new walking tour by Ellen Rovner of Chelsea Gateway Tours will introduce visitors to local restaurants and the culinary story of our city. This virtual tour and about ten others available through the City of Chelsea’s websites of Chelseama.gov and ChelseaProspers.org will be translated into Spanish. A big, colorful set of streetpole banners will echo the campaign on Broadway and near Chelsea’s hotels. All this new content will be distributed through travel related websites and businesses offering paid accommodation.
Maureen Foley of the Chelsea Chamber of Commerce and Director of Community Relations for XSS Hotels says, “This campaign promises to enhance the stay for guests at Chelsea’s seven Marriott, Hilton and IHG hotels by connecting these visitors to local businesses, restaurants, and area happenings. Especially for Spanish-speaking travelers, Chelsea’s diverse Latino neighborhood, well-served by public transportation and roadways, makes the city an ideal homebase to explore Boston and the region.”
“By enabling regional tourism groups, destination marketing organizations and municipalities to market their specific strengths and visitor assets, the TTR grant program enhances the overall brand of Massachusetts,” said MOTT Executive Director Keiko Matsudo Orrall. “This approach also shines a spotlight on family-owned businesses, Main Street retailers and seasonal enterprises that rely on tourism dollars.”
Funded through the Tourism Trust Fund, the TTR Grant Program was open to any public, nonprofit agency, 501(c)3, or 501(c)6 that has been in operation in Massachusetts for at least two consecutive years since January 2019, and is in good standing with taxes and licenses/registrations in the Commonwealth.
The TTR and TTSE programs are in alignment with the Baker-Polito Administration’s Partnerships for Recovery Plan to help stabilize and grow the Massachusetts economy. The plan focuses on getting people back to work, supporting small businesses, fostering innovation, revitalizing downtowns, and ensuring housing stability. Through Partnerships for Recovery, the Administration has awarded more than $705 million to small businesses, and has opened new grant programs to revitalize downtowns, create winter community spaces, support cultural institutions and foundations, and fund regional economic development organizations.