Cape Cod tourism gets boost from shark sightings, tornado and strong US dollar

Friday, October 18, 2019

Sharks took a bite out of Cape Cod tourism this summer.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston cited sharks and a tornado, along with a robust U.S. dollar, initiating a “challenging summer tourist season” in Cape Cod.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said, “One theory was that the strong U.S. dollar prompted more Americans to vacation abroad this summer,” the regional Fed bank said Wednesday in the latest Beige Book summary of economic conditions across the U.S. Moreover, “media attention was ‘overly’ focused on increased shark sightings and (rare) tornados.”

While the Fed said that autumn business in Massachusetts’ Cape Cod was shaping up to be “good,” they also expressed concern that tourism could be “entering a slower pattern compared to 2017 and 2018,” when activities reach historic highs.

Sightings of Great White sharks in the waters off Cape Cod have gone up dramatically in recent times.

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