Photo: WBZ NewsRadio Archive
SALEM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Tourists are trying to beat the magical mayhem of Salem by showing up during its pre-season.
These tourists say they’re thankful for beating out the hordes of the living and undead which will surely take over the streets in the coming days as the busy season of October looms.
“Yes, we are [thankful to beat the crowds], it was by design for sure,” said one tourist.
“We wanted the October feel, but you know maybe a little less crowded,” said one visitor.
However, the crowds can’t be entirely beaten this close to spooky season.
“It’s definitely way busier, did not expect to have to book a reservation to pick up coffee and leave, so that’s been a little busy, but it’s still been really good,” said one woman from Ohio.
Parking spots are limited in the city and by October many of them will become tow away zones meant for overnight resident parking and certain streets will close entirely.
For the next couple of days, however, there will still be some parking spaces available for visitors.
“The Charter St. Cemetery was free you just had to like pick a time and reserve it, but it was free to do, so that’s good,” said one visitor.
The city is urging tourists not to drive to the city when visiting but rather take the commuter rail.
Crowds during this year’s Halloween season are expected to be large as the city reported that it broke its record for tourism last year with more than 1 million visitors in the month of October alone.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Jay Willett (@JayWillettWBZ) reports.