Boston 2026 World Stamp Show

Yes, The Boston Strangler!

Clearly the Michelin folks have been reading this thread, as it's just been announced they're coming to Boston: https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/...-boston.html

Maybe in time for the 2026 show?

I live about 7-8 miles from Boston as the crow flies, but stay away as much as possible. I can't stand the traffic and lawless pedestrians & cyclists. (It shouldn't take 45 minutes to go 7-8 miles during LOW traffic hours... )

THAT BEING SAID, I also say "HEH???" to the idea Boston isn't a food-town. Granted, I bet it isn't like it used to be, especially the Italian North End, thanks to the die-off of the European immigrant families, but if you want your wallet cleaned out there are plenty of restaurants to try. If you want to risk your life, try any of the tiny dives that are everywhere outside the center (hub!) itself. As for Michelin Stars, this isn't Europe... I have NEVER heard anyone mention that rating system here.

If you want to see pretty towns with history, you HAVE to hit Lexington & Concord. Otherwise it all depends on what else you want to see. New McMansions? Restored historic houses? Waterfront? Farmland? Rolling green hills? Glacier deposits??? Whitey Bulger's body dumping grounds???? The entire state can be seen during day trips. Some areas are best avoided, though...

And good luck trying to find a hotel/motel/inn. There have never been many, and a large chunk of the ones we do have are currently occupied by "non-paying guests". Politically incorrect to say, but true and something travelers need to know.

ALSO, highway rest stops are not very common here. Remember that, too!

I could type a lot more here, but will refrain. Personally, I am embarrassed the show is going to happen in Massachusetts. Without getting too far into politics, the entire state has been allowed to fall apart in so many ways for so many years.

And yet it is still one of the most expensive places in the USA to live.

Well said Nells. I currently live in the Berkshires but worked in Boston for years. Your comments are spot on although I did not know that my favorite area to eat, the North End, was not what it used to be. Sadly, I want to move after living here for over 60 years for reasons that you alluded to. Massachusetts is one of those States that is seeing a notable outflux of residents. Leaving it there.

The show for a visitor should be amazing though.

From the Boston 2026 World Expo Facebook page:

This is key. The requirements are simply back to actually being enforced. I am hopeful that not one person cancels their plans to attend based upon social media's proclamations. I think that this show is going to be special since it is also the 250th for the US and Boston is at the epicenter of where and how it all began.

rogdcam: I don't think there is anything "simple" currently.

I am sure when an American opens a newspaper nowadays, s/he will not read a single line about foreigners being rejected at the border due to "reasons". It would probably be dangerous for any US newspaper journalist to report on this matter for "reasons".

Now here in Europe, not a day passes when we can read about somebody being rejected at the border, some even being imprisoned for what seems to be basically "I don't like your face" reasons. Forget about that silly "documentations required" tag lines. Everybody had her/his ESTA thing done before without a hitch.

I roam through European forums and there are massive numbers of collectors and exhibitors who emphatically state they simply won't go to Boston 2026 for exactly what they pick up from the news.Or even visit the States (apparently there is a 30% slump in tourist numbers compared to last year currently)

Fortunately, there still is a year ahead of us before Boston 2026 opening.
But if things do not change DRASTICALLY in the mindset of the US government (and at the US border), expect to see:

1) Fewer exhibitors from overseas
2) Fewer collectors from overseas
3) Fewer dealers from overseas
4) Fewer postal offices from overseas

The only misinformation is that on the Boston 2026 Facebook page.

That's not how tourism works.

I went to Jordan in 2016 at a time of great instability in the region from ISIS; Americans were largely staying away based on the news headlines, even though Jordan itself was perfectly safe and tranquil. It was rather surreal to roam around Petra pretty much by myself, running across the occasional Russian tourist. Those who worked in hospitality were desperate for my business as it was very slow, and they all reported that Americans were staying well away.

Yes, I had done my homework and assessed that the odds of anything bad happening to me were virtually nil. But in tourism, perception is reality.

Here, the argument that "rules haven't changed, enforcement has" is small comfort; if you think there's even a small chance that you'll be unduly hassled, why bother? Toss in the generally combative and hostile tone towards Europe (read our Vice President's remarks from the last couple of months), and it's no big shocker that folks are staying away in droves.

If I was on the Boston 2026 committee, I'd be concerned.

I do hope all goes well and Boston 2026 goes without a hitch for our friends from overseas. I just read on the official website:




Coming just two days ago, this is a great vote of confidence from the FIP, and I hope this will be a good example of philately transcending political boundaries!

Despite the overall drop in inbound numbers, air travel between the United States and certain countries remained robust. The top international markets for total air passenger travel (arrivals and departures) in March 2025 were Mexico (3.975 million), Canada (2.8 million), the United Kingdom (1.478 million), the Dominican Republic (997,000), and Japan (952,000).

Regional trends show varied performance. Air travel between the U.S. and Europe totaled 5.244 million passengers, a 1.2 percent decline compared to March 2024 and down slightly (0.4 percent) from March 2019. While U.S. citizen departures to Europe have increased by 17.2 percent since 2019, European citizens traveling to the U.S. have declined by the same percentage.

In the South/Central America and Caribbean region, air traffic reached 6.099 million, down 0.6 percent from March 2024, but up 14 percent compared to March 2019. This growth suggests a steady recovery and a continued appeal for travelers within these regions.

Asia showed a more complex pattern. Total travel between the U.S. and Asia grew by 6.5 percent over March 2024, reaching 2.684 million passengers. However, this was still 13.9 percent below March 2019 levels. Notably, Asian citizen arrivals to the U.S. were down 33.3 percent compared to March 2019, while U.S. citizen departures to Asia rose by 15.1 percent over the same period.

Among U.S. airports serving international travelers, New York's JFK led the way with 2.675 million passengers. Miami (MIA) followed with 2.228 million, Los Angeles (LAX) with 1.942 million, Atlanta (ATL) with 1.311 million, and San Francisco (SFO) with 1.255 million. On the international side, London Heathrow (LHR) topped the list with 1.333 million travelers to and from the U.S., followed by Cancun (CUN), Toronto (YYZ), Mexico City (MEX), and Paris (CDG).

The timing of Easter—March 31 in 2024 and April 20 in 2025—may have influenced year-over-year comparisons, especially for seasonal travel. Despite this factor, the overall numbers point to a lingering slowdown in inbound tourism to the U.S., even as American travelers continue to explore destinations abroad in greater numbers than before the pandemic.

While total international air passenger traffic to and from the United States reached 22.546 million in March 2025—down just 0.5 percent from March 2024—it still represented 105.7 percent of the pre-pandemic March 2019 volume. The contrast between strong outbound demand and softer inbound recovery highlights a critical trend for the tourism industry to watch in the months ahead.

With overseas visitor arrivals to the U.S. yet to fully rebound, the data signals both progress and persistent challenges for American inbound tourism as it seeks to regain its pre-COVID momentum.

https://ftnnews.com/travel-news/tou...-march-2025/

Official numbers published by the Dutch (holiday) travel industry association over March show a drop of 30% in bookings in March, compared to the previous year,



Most March tickets would have been booked a few months in advance, i.e., before the problems started. The bookings for future leisure travel have plummeted 30% in March. And not just in the Netherlands.

Let us come back to visit this after the Show and see what really happened, shall we?

Sounds like a plan. There are a few holiday periods in Europe before the show. A lot can change before the show.

The Dutch numbers for March could be an outlier because, as Rog's post notes, the timing of Easter affected foreign travel into the US in 2025. It would be better to look at numbers for January to April or May.

Business travelers from broader Europe appear to be undeterred. Here are two announcements from an international organization I participate in, reporting registration numbers for their 2024 and 2025 annual meetings. The 2025 edition opens in San Diego four days from now. The numbers arriving from different global regions are consistent, on a percentage basis, with what I've seen at this meeting for US city locations for many years. The US market is so important, if there's business to be done, business people will come.

https://www.inta.org/news-and-press...whos-coming/

https://www.inta.org/news-and-press...d-gathering/