BOSTON — New Salem resident Dale Monette spends his retirement photographing the life and seasons of the Quabbin Reservoir watershed, most often alone, and a slice of what he sees is now on display to millions of travelers.
North Quabbin Chamber of Commerce staff spent Friday afternoon at Logan International Airport with Congressman Jim McGovern, unveiling advertising for central Massachusetts, the Pioneer Valley and the North Quabbin now on display there.
McGovern said the idea grew from a tourism tour several months ago. McGovern invited the North Quabbin Chamber and others from his 2nd Congressional District to Logan in January, and the ad has been in the works since.
“Millions of people come through Logan airport on a regular basis and they’re seeing these things, in many cases for the first time, and what I tell people all the time is that in central and western Massachusetts we have some of the most beautiful … places in the entire country, and when people see these things they’re going to want to come here,” McGovern said, by phone.
Mia Haringstad, Chamber tourism director, said Monette’s one-picture panel shows the Quabbin Reservoir at sunrise at its most beautiful. The Chamber created a new website, VisitNorthQuabbin.com, to accompany the advertisement. “It’s been up for two weeks and at Tuesday’s count we had almost 700 page views from seven different countries,” Haringstad said.
Mark Wright, Chamber executive director, said the free advertising space is something of a coup for the Quabbin region. “It really is another step in being able to feature what’s going on in the area, and we’re already getting reports from local businesses of increased … foot traffic straight into the doors, and we’re tracking those numbers,” Wright said.
The VisitNorthQuabbin ad is to hang for several months, until a paid advertiser rents the space. The ad, however, is printed on durable cloth and can be returned to the walls and rotated throughout the airport.
You can reach Chris Curtis at: ccurtis@recorder.com