Boston City Council Reviews FY25 Tourism and Licensing Budgets Amid 2026 Event Surge

BOSTON — May 6, 2024 — Boston City Council scrutinizes a $153,000 tourism programming budget ahead of a historic 2026 event wave. At a May 6 budget hearing covering docket numbers 0670 through 0678, Council Members Julia M. Mejia, Gabriela Coletta Zapata, and others pressed Director of Tourism, Sports and Entertainment John Borders and Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion Shigun Edu on whether the office is adequately funded to capitalize on seven FIFA World Cup matches, Sail Boston — which has previously drawn more than 500,000 attendees — and the national 250th anniversary. Mejia noted the overall tourism budget runs approximately $1.8 million but that direct programming dollars sit at just $153,000, arguing "if we could do this right, everybody will eat." Danny Green, executive secretary of the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing, reported 10 new cannabis establishments opened in FY24, consumer advocates closed 1,010 cases in 2023 recovering more than $291,000 for residents, and special event applications jumped 18 percent to 790. A home rule petition for roughly 50 new liquor licenses — the largest single tranche since 2014 — remains pending before the state legislature.