BOSTON (CBS) — After the September 11th attacks in New York City, planes were grounded, fear lingered and there was a total collapse of Boston’s tourism business.
Pat Moscaritolo, heads the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau and says it took more than two years before city tourism recovered.
In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, he feared a repeat of the post-September 11, tourism crash.
But then, something unprecedented occurred.
“There were 38 countries around the globe whose national tourism office adopted a resolution and sent it on to Mayor Tom Menino saying we are going to promote Boston, we want people to come to American, we want people to come to Boston,” Moscaritolo said.
And they responded.
Hotel occupancy in the city in May was up nearly 2-percent over a year ago, driven by a jump in international visitors.
The tourism picture isn’t all rosy, though.
Moscaritolo says attendance at local museums and attractions is off a bit, the result of a drop off in day trippers and local visitors.
The sight of tourists flocking to Boston is a measure of the global solidarity our tragedy has generated, though.
Experts say corporate and convention business bounced back first.
‘The tourism industry was standing up and saying we will not let this happen again,” Moscaritolo said. “It makes me very proud to be a Bostonian, very proud to be an American.”
