Legislators consider bill to support tourism in Mystic
The tourist destinations in the waterfront village of Mystic cumulatively attract several million visitors each year. This resounding popularity creates a number of opportunities and challenges, which has spurred the General Assembly into considering proposed legislation.
Members of the state legislature’s Commerce Committee are reviewing HB5432, which would establish a working group, “to develop a plan for expanding the tourism industry in the Mystic Seaport area.” During a committee hearing on Thursday, several legislators and Mystic community leaders spoke in support of the proposal. But there was debate about the prospective group’s scope and membership, with some calling for wider representation beyond the village area and others wanting more local input.
“I’m looking for a collaborative and inclusive group,” state Rep. Stephen Meskers, D-Greenwich, co-chairman of the Commerce Committee and a proponent of the bill, said during the hearing. “What I want to do is economic development for the state. I think it’s imperative.”
The working group’s members — most of whom would be appointed by leaders of the legislature — would include representatives of the local governments in Groton and Stonington, which are the towns in which the Mystic village and seaport area is located. It would also include representatives of some of the busiest tourist attractions in Mystic, according to the bill. The group would submit its first report to the General Assembly by Jan. 1, 2025, and then disband.
“It’s an initial step, we believe, in the right direction. It needs to be modified fairly significantly to ensure that other entities are part of this conversation and not just the seaport, but our colleagues in Mystic as well,” said Peter Armstrong, president of the Mystic Seaport Museum. “We’d like to urge the Commerce Committee to consider broadening the scope of the proposed working group to encompass a more comprehensive area and a more diverse representation within the group.”
State Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, a committee member, took a similar position.
“I do not like that it is centered around one particular area. I think it should be the greater Mystic area. Also, I have serious concerns about the makeup of the committee,” Somers said. “I do like the idea of trying to bring everybody together because there are multiple things happening in the district at the same time. I do not want this to slow down some of the progress that we have made to date with some of our other bills.”
Armstrong and several other supporters of the bill said that the working group would need to examine how to manage Mystic’s visitor volume. The Mystic Seaport Museum drew about 248,000 visitors in 2022, according to the museum’s annual report for that year.
“Another important consideration is that Mystic is at its ceiling right now with its current infrastructure. Parking, moving people, hotel availability, restaurant availability, etc. are all restricted by parking accessibility,” Rachel Lenda, director of the state Office of Tourism, said in written testimony in support of the bill. “Combining the mission of this working group with SB159, an act establishing a task force to study the feasibility of developing a multimodal transportation center in the towns of Stonington and Groton, would expand the scope to include the primary underlying challenge of tourism expansion in the Mystic area: transportation.”
Among new developments to help meet the tourist demand, the underconstruction Delamar hotel is scheduled to open later this year at 105 Greenmanville Ave., on the Mystic Seaport campus.
Chris Regan, the marketing, leasing and property manager of the mixeduse Olde Mistick Village, suggested several ways to better handle the tourist influx.
“Airbnb is great for tourism, and we should encourage it because the stay is not for one or two days, it’s for five to seven days,” Regan said. “That’s why we’re having record numbers in attendance.” Olde Mistick Village has become Mystic’s most-visited attraction, with more than 1.9 million visitors in 2023, according to Regan.
Regan also advocated for, “advertising as a unified group,” dredging the Mystic River to give larger boats access, as well as increasing summer service on the Shore Line East rail line.
State Rep. Aundré Bumgardner, D-Groton, another supporter of the bill, said that dialogue with Mystic community members would be crucial for the working group.
“It is essential that the group engages with the public in an open and transparent process, that involves input from all stakeholders, including residents, business owners and community leaders,” Bumgardner said. “This process should also include regular public meetings where residents can voice their concerns and provide feedback on proposed ideas, with public comment opportunities.”
The Connecticut Business & Industry Association, the state’s largest business advocacy group, is another backer of the bill.
“This group can act as a model for other regions and can also help inform our Office of Tourism’s strategic plan,” said Ashley Zane, a senior public policy associate for CBIA. “We do have one suggestion … that CBIA be added to this working group, so that we can also represent some of the industries that may not be specifically mentioned,” in the bill.
The Commerce Committee did not vote on the bill on Thursday. It has a March 26 deadline to advance the bill.