New tourism committee names chairman, members
Andy Wood, a Mystic Aquarium executive, will chair the new tourism-promotion panel whose creation the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut announced in November.
Renamed the Greater Mystic Tourism Marketing Committee, the 12-member panel, a “unit” of the chamber, has replaced the Greater Mystic Visitors Bureau as “the key tourism promoter” in the region, the chamber announced.
“With recent shifts in our region, it was imperative that the leaders in our community work collectively toward growing and advocating for tourism in eastern Connecticut,” Wood, the aquarium's senior vice president of external relations, said in a statement. “The creation of the Greater Mystic Tourism Marketing Committee puts that solidly in the hands of those who have a direct and vested interest in the success of our region.”
In addition to Wood, the committee members and their affiliations are: Jake Orenstein, Nature’s Art Village; John Lombardo, Saybrook Point Inn & Spa; Kevin Dodd, Essex Steam Train & Riverboat; Dan McFadden, Mystic Seaport; Stan Mickus, Cross Sound Ferry; Lori Woll, Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa; Bob Mills, Norwich Community Development Corp.; Gary Baker, Mohegan Sun; Ashley Polo, Foxwoods Resort Casino; Peggy Roberts, Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce; and John Filchak, Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments.
Originally dubbed the Eastern Connecticut Regional Tourism Committee, the new panel also supplants the Eastern Regional Tourism District, one of three such districts the state stopped funding at the end of June. The new committee will pursue a public-private partnership with the state Office of Tourism and the state’s tourism website, CTVisit.com, according to Tony Sheridan, president and chief executive officer of the commerce chamber.
Meanwhile, efforts to restore funding for the regional districts continue.
Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, and Rep. Laura Hoydick, R-Stratford, have introduced a bill that would require that 3 percent of the revenue generated by the state’s hotel occupancy tax be directed to the tourism districts. A separate bill submitted by Rep. Brian Ohler, R-North Canaan, also calls for the restoration of funding for the districts.
In addition, Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, has proposed that a portion of the hotel tax be used to fund statewide tourism marketing. Ryan’s bill makes no mention of the tourism districts.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s upcoming budget proposal is not expected to include funding for the regional districts.
“In the climate we’re in, will they get refunded?” Sheridan said. “If they do, we’re more than open to working with the district. ... We have no choice but to forge ahead.”
The chamber is hiring a tourism marketing coordinator to support the new committee’s efforts. The coordinator will help develop and implement a tourism marketing plan, “working closely with regional attractions, lodging, restaurants and retail partners,” according to a posting on the chamber’s website.
The Eastern Regional Tourism District has moved its offices from Mystic to 15 Thames St. in Groton, where Ed Dombroskas, the district’s executive director, and others have been staffing it as volunteers.
“I go in one or two days a week,” Dombroskas said.
District staffers recently represented “Mystic Country” at a trade show, maintain the district’s presence on social media and respond to inquiries, he said.
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