New England Tourism

For much of the 20th century New England saw pretty hard economic times. As the nation's people moved west and south and rail and highway transportation meant easy access to ports and manufacturing centers all across the country, the importance of the northeast diminished. There were even times when landowners simply walked away from their farms to seek a better life elsewhere because they could not find anyone to buy the homestead.

In many areas all that has been changing over the past 20 years as tourism has increasingly become the engine driving the New England economy. While there are still areas hard hit where jobs are scarce and business prospects are not good, many other places are seeing a reversal. In many ways, it is ironic that New England's past has become a big part of its future.

History

A large tourist attraction for the region is its incredibly rich historical tradition. With Boston at its center, historical sites dating back to the Revolutionary War and earlier draw millions of visitors each year. Of the 10 most visited national parks in New England, eight are based around historical monuments and seven of those are in Massachusetts. Of these, the most visited is the Boston National Historical Park, which really is a collection of eight sites in the city. Seven of those sites are along a two-and-a-half mile walking tour called the Freedom Trail.

The region's maritime tradition also accounts for a great deal of tourist activity. The whaling community on Nantucket Island draws visitors, as does the Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, touted as "the nation's leading maritime museum." It features a preserved New England seafaring village and an authentic whaling ship. When it comes to museums in general, there are too many to list, ranging from those devoted to submarines, trolleys, the Industrial Revolution, and textiles.

Big and Small

The region also offers big cities and small towns. From Boston, referred to as "the hub of the universe," to Caribou, Maine, there is a place to visit for anyone's taste. All of these places can be found on the various state's tourism web sites or on a host of other web sites that cover the entire region. The more modern activities of the region also include gambling at casinos in Connecticut and harness racing in Massachusetts.

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