More on the City Council race will be forthcoming as soon as I make it though a busy week (Election is next Tuesday). But for now, an item of local news: The State Senate is considering a bill to fund efforts to boost tourism from foreign tourists. As the 9/11 domestic travel slump has hit Massachusetts hard, the reasoning goes, it makes sense to woo international tourism. Fine, I say. But while we’re at it, let’s hope the money won’t be spent simply on advertising campaigns but will involve more creativity in welcoming tourists. A few ideas (for free!):
Multilingual ATMs: This will require cooperation of local and (now that Fleet’s bought out) national banks, but it can’t take much to retool cash machines to offer 8 languages like they do in Europe. Currently they’re simply progammed for English and Spanish, but leave other buttons unused. At the very least German, French and Japanese seem in order, and would be a fairly painless yet widely appreciated way to welcome non English-speakers.
Informational kiosks: I keep thinking of the kinds of map kiosks I saw in Sweden (you press a button and out pops a map with any attractions you want marked, in any language). This would not have to be too high-tech, but kiosks in the common tourist areas downtown and Copley, plus public transit and transportation hubs would be another good measure.
Public transit: the T is fairly accessible for visitors - we’re no DC, but we’re not New York either. But the MBTA is notoriously out-of-tune with how riders experience the system, and some major initiative is needed to welcome foreigners, especially those not fluent in English. Drivers need to learn how to be more tourist-friendly particularly at stops like Prudential or on nonstandard routes. Some clarification of confusing terms like “Westbound” or “Outbound” might help. Multilingual signs in major stations would also help.
Cabs need more regulation. I’m not even referring to politeness or whatever Menino was harping on a year ago. I’m talking about a standard, reasonable fare structure and penalty for ripping consumers off.
Boston does have an opportunity to build a reputation alone among American cities for accommodating non-English speaking tourists. Any more ideas on how to achieve this? Send them on: chris@marxistsforkeynes.com.
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