CCB MEDIA PHOTO
Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Wendy Northcross, left, and Patti Lloyd, the vice president of sales for the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce.
HYANNIS – The Cape Cod tourism season is underway as visitors flock to the region over the Memorial Day weekend.
Officials are hoping for another successful season for area businesses and are targeting travelers from other parts of the country that finish the school year earlier.
Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Wendy Northcross says they are focusing on areas like Washington D.C. and Chicago.
“We’ve been targeting those communities with Facebook ads that say ‘we are ready, we are open and why don’t you think about coming here just before the Cape fully blossoms,” Northcross said.
Northcross said she has been in touch with global travel professionals that market and promote the region to overseas visitors who said interest in the Cape is strong.
“They even have a slogan in Europe called ‘West is Best,’” she said.
Northcross said there are concerns from travelers about going to areas that are affected by viruses like Zika and Ebola.
“I think the demand is there,” Northcross said. “We may even pick up demand domestically because people are canceling their Caribbean vacations.”
Northcross said even though the height of the summer season doesn’t start until later in June the Memorial Day weekend is a
“It always helps to have the sun shining and it makes people happy and gets them into their ‘let’s go on a vacation’ mode,” she said. “This three day weekend is a nice shot in the arm for business.”
Northcross said new things are being done to market the Cape to hope bolster the shoulder season.
“We’re looking at the second quarter of the year as being our biggest opportunity to add some growth,” she said. “Because the more year round we can make the industry the easier it’s going to be for some of our hospitality businesses to keep their employees year round.”
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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