Rep. Keenan Addresses Tourism Group

 

SALEM, MA – State Representative John Keenan (D-Salem), a member of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development, today addressed a meeting of the North of Boston Convention and Visitors’ Bureau.  Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray was the keynote speaker for the event.  A copy of Representative Keenan’s remarks, as prepared, follows.

Representative John Keenan, NBCVB Remarks

I’d like to thank Julie McConchie and the Board of the North of Boston CVB, for inviting me to speak.  It’s great to be here for the grant announcements, the kick off of the new 2007 Escapes North campaign, and the remarks from the Lieutenant Governor.  I’d also like to thank Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray, for joining us and my colleagues, Representative Tony Verga and Senator Bruce Tarr, for hosting this event in their district.

Investments in travel, tourism, the arts, and cultural development have been a favored punching bag lately for a certain Boston newspaper that shall remain nameless.  It’s a sad fact that there are some who don’t think government should be involved in stimulating and working with an industry that accounts – in Massachusetts – for over $13 billion in consumer spending; an industry that has created over 125,000 jobs; an industry that generates over $3 ½ billion in wages; an industry that produces over $800 million in state and local taxes.

When Speaker DiMasi and President Travaligni created the legislature’s Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development in 2005, they recognized that this was a sector of our economy, our communities, and our heritage that could not and should not be ignored.  And we in the legislature are glad to have partners in the Corner Office, now, who agree.   So, I am very pleased to see the Lieutenant Governor here with us today.

Talking about the economic development angle to travel and tourism – with this crowd – is preaching to the choir, of course.  You know about the importance of this industry in our Commonwealth and how it is one of our major economic engines.  You know about the jobs it creates and the revenue it generates.  You know about multipliers and marketing.  So I want to take a minute this morning to acknowledge something else – something you don’t often hear about on Beacon Hill.

Tourism and culture – whether it’s based on our history or art – gives a community a sense of pride, of worth, and of heritage.  It’s the ephemeral element that makes people want to go to one place instead of another.  We want other people to see who we are and where we’ve come from.  We want them to see what we are capable of creating.  Tourism isn’t just about vacations and money – it’s about creativity and history.  It’s something we share with people from the next town over and the other side of the world. 

Through tourism, we share our world with retirees from Rhode Island and children from Chile.  And it connects, because it’s their world, too.  Through tourism, we share our history with visitors, young and old, from across Massachusetts and from across the country.  And it connects, because it’s their history, too.  They leave us informed, intrigued, and inspired.  Through travel, we push the boundaries of our own personal world, discovering new cultures and ideas.  What other industry does that?

I applaud the groups and organizations that are receiving grants from the Bureau and I challenge them to connect with the people they draw to our little corner of the Commonwealth.  Because that is how we generate the spending, the jobs, and the tax revenue.  And that’s how we quiet the nay-sayers when it comes to supporting tourism, arts, and cultural development in Massachusetts.