With Memorial Day comes the unofficial start to the busy summer season. Across the Island, store owners are unboxing new merchandise and home owners are putting one last coat of paint of the fence.
About 64,000 people have taken commercial flights at the airport in the first eight months of 2023 — a figure that is already higher than the total annual commercial passengers for three of the past five years.
Harbor reservations are at an all-time high, ferries have robust bookings and the airport is bracing for its annual onslaught of private and commercial planes.
The days are shorter, the air is cooler and the kids are back in school — but this is still tourist season on Martha’s Vineyard, where fall is second only to summer as the Island’s busiest time.
Boosting the shoulder season economy was one topic for discussion at the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development hearing Tuesday. The hearing was part of a statewide listening tour.
It’s difficult to imagine today, but there was a time before resorthood on Martha’s Vineyard — a time before summer houses, before restaurants and shops and sportfishing and sailing.