Spring in the Northeast marks a change from short, blustery, cold days to extended and hopefully warmer days. In the Berkshires especially, it brings anticipation of the upcoming summer tourist season.Like many in the Berkshire business realm, Lauri Klefos of the Berkshire Visitors Bureau is anxiously anticipating summer’s arrival and with it tourists.
“We just got our brand new 2015 visitor’s guide delivered this week so everything is ready and waiting for the visitors to arrive,” said Klefos.
She cites figures from the state department of revenue estimating visitors — people who have traveled at least 100 miles — spend $400 million each year in the Berkshires. Klefos says that has been trending upward about five percent annually over the past three years. Overall, Massachusetts estimates 17 million people visit the commonwealth annually.
“The latest trend that we’ve seen is the Boston market has been growing for about the past four years,” Klefos explained. “A survey that we did last summer showed that there was a 10 percent increase in the Boston market coming to the Berkshires. That’s important for us because we have always relied heavily on the New York [City] market. Good news is that Boston is finding us and I would say it’s because we are really dedicated to getting the message out in Boston about all the things to do. But we didn’t see a decrease in New York so that’s growth.”
Klefos says the median age of the Berkshire visitor is 52. She adds the region’s cultural draws like Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and Tanglewood serve as anchors while newer, more active attractions are popping up. She’s hopeful the Ramblewild aerial park in Lanesborough and Berkshire East’s 5,450-foot-long mountain coaster bring in younger tourists.
“That’s going to be something really new for us to talk about this summer is that rise in outdoor, fitness and recreation,” Klefos said. “That is becoming as important as the culturals are to that full experience that we can offer here in the Berkshires.”
Klefos adds that lately Tanglewood has brought in more popular artists geared toward a younger crowd. For instance, this year Tony Bennett will have Lady Gaga at his side. Meanwhile, MASS MoCA dedicates 50 percent of its programming to performance art with bands like Wilco and the Fresh Grass Bluegrass Festival. Klefos adds a Van Gogh exhibit at the Clark this summer will build upon its recent expansion.
“The big news in Pittsfield is the opening of the Hotel on North,” Klefos said. “That’s coming up this spring, early summer. There’s also Hilton Gardens that’s opening on Pittsfield-Lenox Rd. So more lodging, more variety of different types of lodging is opening up this summer. So the trend that I am most excited about is all this investment going on in Berkshire County in hospitality and tourism.”
Pittsfield’s Hotel on North is being managed by Main Street Hospitality. The group runs hotels throughout the county – the Porches Inn, the Williams Inn and the Red Lion Inn. With more than 335 rooms between the four venues, Vice President of Lodging Operations Michele Kotek says the group has started the process of bringing on 160 workers for the summer while landscaping gets going with an order of 4,000 impatiens at the Red Lion Inn alone.
“We actually have guests that book a year in advance,” Kotek said. “They stay the previous year and want to make their reservation for the next year. Really when the culturals make their announcements of what’s happening on particular dates – the Tanglewood, Jacob’s Pillow and the Berkshire Theatre Group schedule – when those come out between November and February is really when our phones start ringing more for the people who have decided ‘OK, that’s the play I want to go see, let’s book a room as well.’”
