Essex Heritage CEO Warns Of Long-Term North Shore Tourism Damage From Fed Shutdown

SALEM, MA — As the historic buildings that are part of the Salem Maritime National Historical Park remain closed for nearly all of the city's expected record Halloween visitation season, the head of Essex Heritage, a non-profit that partners with the National Park Service, is warning of the long-term damage that an extended federal government shutdown could have on regional tourism.

While the National Park Service's Salem Armory Visitor Center was reopened for the Halloween season on Oct. 6 through a collaboration between Essex Heritage, Destination Salem, the Salem National Historical Park, and Eastern National, with funding assistance from The Salem Witch Museum, The Salem Wax Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, Eastern National, Creative Collective and Destination Salem, Essex Heritage CEO Anne Harris called the collaboration a "stop-gap measure" that will expire on Nov. 3.

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She said that an extended shutdown, or significant reductions in National Park Service staffing at the Visitor Center and Salem Maritime Park, will cause damage that "will be felt throughout the Greater Salem region."

"The loss of National Park Service operations will create a large gap in visitor services that no combination of nonprofits, business organizations, or the city can fill," she said.

According to a recent NPS study, the Salem Maritime National Historical Park welcomed 488,831 visitors in 2024.

Until the shutdown, it was on target to exceed this visitation number in 2025.

The report said that amounts to about $34.4 million in local expenditures, which supported 327 jobs, $19.7 million in labor income, $32.8 million in value added, and $50.6 million in economic output to Salem and the surrounding communities.

"The National Park Service has been an important partner in Salem's revitalization since the early 1980s," Harris said. "They were a founding member of The Salem Partnership, and their research and study led to the formation of the Essex National Heritage Area. The park provides some of the best waterfront access to Salem Harbor anywhere in the city.

"NPS staff are steeped in Salem’s history and provide excellent visitor services to the more than 1.5 million tourists who come to Salem each year. Many NPS staff also live in the city and volunteer with our neighborhood and civic organizations.

"If park staff are let go during the new round of RIFs, this loss will be felt not only in the park but across the community."

The National Park Service in Salem employs 22 permanent, full-time staff and 4 term (temporary, full-time) positions, and approximately 15 seasonal employees and interns. There are seven permanent positions and two project-funded term positions vacant at present.

NPS staff provide guided tours, maintain the historic properties, and care for iconic structures such as the Derby House and the Custom House where Nathaniel Hawthorne once worked. The park also provides dockage for visiting tall ships and small boats, and it serves as the home port for the Friendship of Salem, a replica East Indiaman currently undergoing restoration.

The Salem Armory Visitor Center is owned and managed by the National Park Service.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)