Cape Cod Chamber proposes local tourism-district assessment; Yarmouth among first towns eyed

The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce introduced a proposal to form a Tourism Destination Marketing District (TDMD), an industry-led assessment program that would raise local, stable funds to promote lodging and events on The Cape.

Chamber CEO Paul Mezwicky and board chair Lisa Oliver explained the model, which is authorized by Massachusetts chapter 40X (enacted in 2021) and requires a petition signed by lodging businesses in a proposed district. Under the state process the Department of Revenue would collect the assessment and remit it to the regional tourism council (the Cape Cod Chamber) for spending on agreed activities.

Nut graf: The Chamber described a town-by-town pilot approach rather than a single Cape-wide district. For the initial Yarmouth petition the Chamber said the eligibility cutoff is lodging businesses with 85 or more rooms; by that standard Yarmouth would have 12 qualifying properties. The pre-formation committee proposed a 1.5% assessment rate; proposed spending in the draft district plan would allocate roughly 75% of revenues to marketing and sales, 10% to business practices and workforce initiatives and 15% for reserves and administration.

Key details and next steps - Petition and threshold: State law requires petitions from businesses representing at least 62% of eligible lodging properties in the proposed district. The Chamber reported it already has petition signatures from 10 of Yarmouth's 12 qualifying hotels and said the group is prepared to file once the town completes public-notice steps. - Uses of funds: The draft plan prioritizes marketing and group-incentive programs, destination-development projects and workforce-related initiatives. The Chamber specifically cited tools to sustain visitation during bridge construction and other local infrastructure work; it also flagged off-season events and sports-tourism as target areas. - Governance and collection: If formed, the TDMD would have a five-year term, renew by majority vote of paying members, and be administered by the regional tourism council with oversight committees and an audit requirement. The DOR will collect assessments and remit them to the Chamber for programmatic use. - Timing: Chamber staff said they hope to file petition materials after Town Meeting and requested the Select Board's cooperation on scheduling and required public hearings. They indicated that if approvals proceed on schedule the district could begin quarterly collections as early as July 1, 2025; a later filing would delay that start to October.

Ending: Board members expressed general openness and asked procedural questions about timelines, overlap with existing town tourism funds, and the proposed rate. No Select Board vote was taken at the meeting; the Chamber requested the town's cooperation on scheduling the public hearing window so the petition could be filed in time for a July collection start.