But here at Hampton Terrace, our January and February visitation is up 30% over any prior year.   I attribute that to the fact that people still need to "get away."   Relaxation and escape are the same, whether it is a trip to Hawaii, London or the Berkshires.    And we know that the Berkshires are "comfort food" to many people.

A couple of hours drive…..no airport hassles, delays or missed connections……..  expectations established….

The latter is the important point.   Several years ago the Berkshire Visitors Bureau commissioned a comprehensive survey of Berkshire visitors and learned many key facts about our demographic.   Repeat visitation to the Berkshires is profound…..the typical overnight visitor has come, on average, seventeen times to the area!  

And the reason for their virtually annual repeat visits?   "Because it never changes."

From the visitors’ perspective, this is very true.   Most of our arts presenting groups range between 30 and 80 years old.   The museums have been here from a quarter century to more than a century.    Vistas and outdoor activity choices remain stable due to very stringent development regulations.    Many restaurants are well established, although every year some exciting additions pop up.    Most of the historic inns keep plugging along, although over the last ten years there has been the introduction of more hotel chains along the commercial corridors.    Probably the most stabilizing component of the area is Tanglewood….which has established a successful formula that undergoes only slight tweaking from year to year.

So welcome to Hampton Terrace.    Allow us to show you why people will continue to visit the Berkshires…in good times and bad.