In the News

This 250th anniversary of the American Revolution — the opening shots of Lexington and Concord rang out in April 1775 — is a major business opportunity for the state’s $23.6 billion-a-year travel and tourism industry.

“We’re going to have, starting in April, a great 250th celebration,” Gov. Maura T. Healey told reporters Tuesday after the first day of the Governor’s Conference on Travel and Tourism. “People have got to understand that we’re the birthplace of America. The whole revolution. It started here. So we have a lot to celebrate. From Springfield to Boston, in every corner, every region of the state.”

For Springfield, that means broadening the “revolutionary” concept to city focal points, like its place as the birthplace of basketball, or its manufacturing, transportation and immigration heritage, said Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Another example: The Henry Knox Trail winds its way through the county and state, commemorating Henry Knox’s hauling of cannon from Ticonderoga to Boston in the winter of 1775-76.

The Springfield Armory National Historic Site, figures large in early American history, too.

Gen. George Washington established an arsenal at Springfield early in the war, and the first national armory began manufacturing muskets here in 1794.

The armory was a target for Shays' Rebellion, and a post-Revolution confrontation between disgruntled farmers and state militia there in 1787 pushed the new nation toward a more centralized government, but with checks and balances on power, said U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal.

“At the corner of State and Federal streets, there America’s Constitution was born,” Neal, D-Springfield, said. “We have a great story to tell the rest of the world. And we all want to be a part of it.”

Locally, the region draws about 4 million visitors a year, generating $136 million in local and state tax revenue. The tourism sector employs nearly 12,000 workers, making it the third-largest employment generator in Hampden County. The overall economic impact for Western Massachusetts is about $1.3 billion.

The two-day conference drew 460 to the MassMutual Center for seminars, not just on historical tourism, but on sports tourism, with destinations like the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and tournaments across the region.

Attractions presenting themselves at the conference included the city of Lowell, the armory, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and the Chester Railway Station and Museum.

On the minds of many attendees: the new presidential administration’s clampdown on migrants and tariffs on its trade partners.

Of those 12,000 tourism jobs in the region, state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield, noted that much of that workforce is an immigrant workforce. Protecting that workforce protects the industry.

And Canada, because of its size and proximity, is both the region’s and state’s number one source of international visitors, said Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism Executive Director Kate Fox.

Canadian opinion of the United States has fallen sharply in response to threats of trade tariffs.

But Wydra said Massachusetts’ reputation might assuage some of the anger felt north of the border.