By Ethan Forman
Staff Writer
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PEABODY — Build it, and the visitors will come — provided you have a good mix of shops, restaurants and attractions.
That's the perspective about the future of tourism that at least one local developer will bring to the fifth annual North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau Tourism Conference, an all-day event at the Boston Peabody Marriot this Friday.
The conference will feature a discussion with a group not normally associated with travel and tourism: developers. It is their building plans and insight that industry professionals may benefit from in the long run.
The conference focuses on the intersection of travel and tourism trends and how Essex County hoteliers, attraction operators and chambers of commerce can gain insight from them, said Julie McConchie, executive director of the Newburyport-based North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The tourism industry represents big business in Essex County, with visitors spending $635 million in 2009, supporting 6,000 jobs and a payroll of $157 million, McConchie said.
Lodging also generates $34 million in state taxes and $15.5 million in local taxes. And the good news is occupancy in 2010 jumped 11.8 percent over 2009, McConchie said.
October is the highest occupancy month for the region's hotels, motels and inns, McConchie said, and those visitors are coming for a variety of reasons: the Topsfield Fair, fall festivals, leaf peeping and, of course, Salem's Haunted Happenings, which brings hundreds of thousands of visitors to Salem during the monthlong Halloween celebration.
It's not just Halloween that brings visitors to Salem, and the city's tourism partners are thinking about new ways to broaden the tourism base beyond that, McConchie said.
The Peabody Essex Museum continues to provide a huge draw, recently bringing more than 105,000 visitors to its exhibit "The Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures From the Forbidden City," which closed earlier this month after a record run. Destination Salem's executive director, Kate Fox, said it was estimated that 5,000 people saw the exhibit on its last weekend.
So how do developers fit into the tourism landscape? In Gloucester and Salisbury, there's discussion about developing hotels, McConchie said.
But in Salem, which has two large hotels downtown, the Hawthorne Hotel and the Salem Waterfront Hotel, the emphasis by one development firm, RCG of Somerville, is not on large-scale development projects (it has pulled off a few of those already) but on incremental improvements.
The idea is to build on a downtown that has blossomed with shops, restaurants, apartments and condominiums over the past decade, coinciding with Salem's becoming more and more of a draw in the fall.
"It's continuing to do what the city and the residents and business owners have been trying to do for the last 20 years," said Matthew Picarsic, the managing principal of RCG, who oversees investments in Lynn and Salem. Picarsic will represent Salem on a panel of developers Friday.
A mix of shops, offices and residences is vital, Picarsic said, for tourism to grow.
A city needs people who live and work downtown to support a range of shops, including upscale ones. This can act to draw visitors and add a sense of vibrancy.
Downtowns also need to be attractive to create active street fronts, and buildings also have to be kept up.
RCG and other developers have been working hard to spruce up Salem's downtown to make it attractive.
Besides the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem has its share of attractions, including the Salem Maritime National Historic Site and the Salem Witch Museum.
"All local stakeholders share a common goal in creating a vibrant and exciting place to visit, live and work," Picarsic said.
It also helps to have a stable population base. There are about 3,000 residents living in downtown Salem, Picarsic said.
RCG has renovated and developed more than 100 residences downtown and added 70,000 square feet of retail space.
Among RCG's mixed-use projects are the Central House townhouse development at the former Salem Evening News building at 155 Washington St. and Washington at Derby, a new four-floor building constructed on a portion of the former News site.
Washington at Derby features 24 apartments and the popular Tavern in the Square eatery, with its seating out front in the warm-weather months.
Mixed use was also part of the six-story Derby Lofts, the redevelopment of the former Salem Laundry building at the corner of Derby and Lafayette streets, which features shops on the ground floor and condos above.
"It's a great place to live," Picarsic said of Salem. "What we are trying to do is add to the fabric that makes it so successful."
Destination Salem's Fox said it is important that developers build quality shops, but developers have to make sure these shops stay open year-round to maintain the momentum after the busy fall season.
When visitors flooded in to see the "Forbidden City" exhibit earlier this month, "half of Essex Street was closed," Fox said.
"If you are closed and the door is locked, you are going to lose a customer."
Fox said RCG has worked well with Salem Main Streets, the city and other groups to create that mix that helps draw visitors.
"They are great partners," Fox said.
Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or eforman@salemnews.com.
If you go
What: Fifth annual North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau Tourism Conference
Where: Boston Peabody Marriott
When: Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; registration at 8 a.m.
Why: Region's largest tourism industry event brings together travel and tourism professionals to talk trends.
Who: Event is open to the public.
Cost: $100 for first NBCVB member, $80 additional NBCVB member from same organization; $165 for first nonmember, $135 for additional nonmember; $60 for student and session speaker.
Breakfast panel: Developers from Salem, Gloucester, Newburyport and Salisbury speak on "The Future of Tourism in Essex County: How to Benefit Today From Tomorrow's Plans."
High-tech lunch break: April Robb, social media manager of Trip Advisor, to discuss online reviews and how technology is changing customer's expectations.
Breakout discussions: "Give It to Get It: The Benefits of Discounting," "CVB Industry Primer," "Growing Your Share of the International Market" and "Dirty, Sexy History Volume 2."
