So, driving down Route 6 the other day I saw a bumper sticker "Don't Hassle Me, I'm Local." It was located on one of our local contractor's vehicles. It really got me to wondering, is our local economy so strong that the local contractor's can afford to chase off business?
The fact is, the Cape is a tourist economy. We need them, probably more than they need us. It may be time for everyone to tone down the anti-tourist rhetoric and recognize that tourists are our cash cow.
When you arrive in Hawaii, you are greeted with a lei. When you arrive on the Cape you see stickers that say "Since they call it tourist season, why can't we shoot'em?"
The Massachusetts Office of Tourism reports that dollar spent on a non-business hotel stay there is an additional $3.52 spent in the local economy. This adds up into the hundreds of millions of dollars spent in the local economy. Our beaches are clearly our greatest resource, bringing significant amounts of money. If we do not work to keep those expenditures here on the Cape, and make the tourist feel welcome, then we may as well hand them tourist brochures for the Jersey Shore, Myrtle Beach, or Virginia Beach.
Clinton once said "it's the economy stupid." We on the Cape need to realize that our economy relies heavily on the tourists and that we should not be shoeing them away.
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