Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce travels to Nashville to sell Cape Cod to tour bus operators

Denise Coffey, Cape Cod Times
·4 min read

There’s been a resurgence of motorcoach tours since the pandemic, according to the American Bus Association, and the Cape is part of that equation. It’s part of a nationwide trend that saw an increase of 60% in passenger miles traveled between 2020 and 2022, according to the trade organization. The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce is intent on getting their share.

The Chamber’s Senior Vice President of Sales Patti Lloyd was in Nashville recently at the American Bus Association’s annual convention where she spoke with 160 motorcoach operators and companies that put tours together.

“My mission is to sell Cape Cod as a destination for all types of groups,” she said in a Feb. 15 telephone interview. “Motorcoach has always been a big part of our portfolio to sell.”

What the Chamber sells are the Cape’s unique destinations, including hotels, resorts, museums and Main Streets, she said. Operators like to schedule whale watching tours, dune tours, and stops at the Heritage Museum & Gardens. Stops at cranberry bogs and great restaurants that can handle large crowds at one time are popular. So are day trips to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

“We sell all venues, everything that makes Cape Cod special,” Lloyd said.

Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President of Sales Patti Lloyd sells Cape Cod at the American Bus Association Convention in Nashville last month. The Chamber partnered with the Massachusetts Convention and Visitors Bureau at the annual event.
Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President of Sales Patti Lloyd sells Cape Cod at the American Bus Association Convention in Nashville last month. The Chamber partnered with the Massachusetts Convention and Visitors Bureau at the annual event.

This year and next promise to be a very good years, according to Lloyd. The forecast for 2024 is huge and tours are already booking for 2025, she said.

“The Cape is so magical to people,” Lloyd said. “We have no tall buildings, no cities, 15 unique towns, 559 miles of coastline, so people have great expectations. We try to deliver.”

Many bus trips in shoulder seasons, when business is most needed

New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania are top feeder markets for Cape tours, with growing numbers from midwestern states like Minnesota and Michigan, Lloyd said. And “fly-drives” make up a portion of the motorcoach business. “Fly-drives” is an industry term; passengers take flights to destinations where they pick up the tour.

Lloyd calls bus tours a good piece of business that comes in the shoulder season, when Cape businesses need it. The tours tend to come in April, May, June, September and October. This year was the first time a bus came from Pennsylvania for New Year’s Eve. The group stayed at a Cape resort and went to Ryan’s Ten Pin Eatery & Arcade. Lloyd wants to see tours coming for the Cape’s Christmas season.

A full coach might carry 50 people. Many are in the 60- to 85-year-old range, though the Cape draws church and student groups, too. While passengers might not spend a lot of money, they are a sure thing, Lloyd said.

“They don’t spend the big bucks. They don’t stay at extravagant places, but they come here and spend money and they don’t cancel,” Lloyd said. “They’re weatherproof. And they love being let loose on main streets in Provincetown, Chatham and Hyannis.”

Rain might cancel a whale watch, but it can be replaced with a visit to the Whydah Pirate Museum or another venue. And Lloyd called motorcoach passengers some of the Cape’s best storytellers. They take pictures with their cell phones and post them to friends, family and social media accounts.

A look at some of the tours that visit Cape Cod

Golden Bus Tours offers 3-day trips from New York City to Cape Cod and the Islands for around $250. A 3-day tour to the Cape and Islands, Plymouth and Rhode Island costs around $400 with Take Tours. A 9-day tour from Phillips Bus out of Minnesota costs from $2,000 to $2,800 depending on room occupancy. The Phillips tour includes three days on the Cape at venues in Provincetown and the Cape Cod National Seashore.

But it’s the money passengers spend when they’re not on schedule that adds up, too: t-shirts and souvenirs, ice cream cones and full-course meals. Those figures are hard to come by, as are the number of charter tours that visit the Cape. But come they do, and they return home as some of the Cape's biggest fans.

“You'll see a Cape Cod sweatshirt in Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, California,” Lloyd said with a laugh.

Denise Coffey writes about business, tourism and issues that impact Cape Cod's residents and visitors. Contact her at dcoffey@capecodonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Bus tours bring dollars to Cape businesses in shoulder season