Boston Mayor Kim Janey unveiled a new campaign Monday to promote an equitable recovery for the city’s tourism and hospitality industries as well as small businesses which have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Janey announced the campaign, called “All Inclusive Boston,” during a press conference at the Hibernian Hall in Roxbury.
“I’m proud to announce ‘All Inclusive Boston,'” she said. “It showcases Boston as a city with a new generation of entrepreneurs, innovators and artists — a city that is welcoming to everyone.” Unlike past travel and tourism promotions, highlighting places like Fenway Park and Faneuil Hall, this effort has a different focus.
“The all inclusive Boston campaign boldly puts our people and our neighborhoods front and center for the very first time,” the mayor said.
The campaign invites people to rediscover Boston’s 23 neighborhoods, connecting the city’s downtown core with “a rich array of cultural and culinary attractions,” Janey said.
“This campaign is one that I believe is a game changer,” said Colette Phillips, whose communications firm partnered with Proverb and the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau to develop the campaign. “Not only in allowing our economy to reopen safely, but with a new narrative that reflects the city’s history, diversity and vibrancy.”
In a campaign that began last November, Boston is putting equity at the center of the city’s pandemic recovery with the hospitality sector as the focus.
“Revenue for the tourism sector is down as much as 70%. In fact, hotel room revenue is down 80%,” said Martha Sheridan, with the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“It’s a great project that they’re doing. Showing different sides of Boston besides the Freedom Trail or downtown,” said Anthony Traniello, the lead bartender at the Dorchester Brewing Company — a hidden gem with a million dollar view. “It’s really exciting to get people to be able to come out here and experience a different side that they normally wouldn’t.”