Members of the Boston and Cambridge City Councils, along with representatives from the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureaus, will hold a press conference to discuss the creation of a Boston-Cambridge Tourism Marketing District (the TDMD) before a scheduled vote at the Boston City Council’s Wednesday meeting. The TDMD has already been approved by Cambridge and only requires Boston City Council approval for creation.
The Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau partnered with Councilor Lydia Edwards to create the TDMD. The plan sets forth the services, programs, budget, assessment structure, criteria for businesses, management, and committee for the TDMD area.
The TDMD will be a crucial part of a strong economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The tourism industry and its employees have been some of the hardest hit during this pandemic. The tourism industry disproportionately employs women and people of color at much higher rates than other industries, and is often a stepping stone for meaningful wages and union membership.
The TDMD will permit hotels in Boston and Cambridge to assess its members a fee that will be directly reinvested back into tourism, similar to a business improvement district. The estimated $10 million investment in the first year of the TDMD will promote tourism in Boston and Cambridge, help beautify and maintain green and open spaces in the TDMD, increase supplier diversity, and create a reserve fund to help the tourism industry weather economic downturns.
The press conference will be held on the fifth floor of Boston City Hall on Wednesday August 18 at 11a.m.
For more information: https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/file/2021/07/Docket%20%230834.PDF.