Preliminary numbers show that the week is exceeding expectations. Moscaritolo said they had been predicting a 4.5 percent increase in the number of visitors over a typical July Fourth week, but early estimates suggest the number will jump 9 percent.
Economically, that would translate to a $60 million to $75 million increase in tourist spending over a typical Fourth of July week, he said.
To lure additional visitors, he estimated, the city and state spent $2 million to $3 million on marketing, promotion, police, and emergency medical services. The costs for the fireworks and Esplanade concert are funded by a nonprofit, Boston 4 Celebrations Foundation, run by David Mugar.
“The bottom line for us is that it demonstrates the power of special-event activities as a way to drive visitors, even in uncertain times,” he said. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen these kinds of smiles on the faces of people who work in the visitor industry.”
The midweek holiday, instead of inhibiting visitors,created two waves of them, Moscaritolo said: one comprised of tourists who came last weekend and stayed through the Fourth, and those who arrived on the Fourth and will stay through this weekend.
Hotel occupancy, typically about 80 percent in Boston and Cambridge at this time of year, will be closer to 85 or 86 percent, he said.
One of the big draws was the Navy Week festivities to celebrate the bicentennial of the War of 1812.
Lieutenant John Ripley, a spokesman for Boston Navy Week, said the 20 ships anchored in the harbor had drawn nearly 234,000 visitors through Wednesday. Many of those ships will be here until Friday, so he expected that number to grow substantially.
“All week, each of the tall ships has been at capacity in terms of the number of visitors,” said Bill Armstrong, communications director for Operation Sail, the organization that coordinated the tall ships portion of Navy Week. He said Boston has been the most successful port on the six-city tour, which included New York City and New Orleans.