Tourism Council

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What We Do

• Administration & Operations 

This program includes the oversight of the day to day management of the tourism council office functions and coordinates personnel, accounting, purchasing and contracts.

• Visitor Information Services

Staff under this program operate the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center and provide information resources, brochures and destination routing for travelers and tourists on events, attractions, interests and activities. It also responds to telephone and mail inquiries. This program also offers information distribution services to the region's visitor centers and destinations.

• Program Development & Special Events

Working with its multi-level partnerships, the tourism council assists in developing and marketing tourism products and creating special events. This program includes scheduling seasonal Spring and Fall Heritage Train Tours of the Blackstone River Valley. It also assists in many statewide, regional and local events.

• Public Affairs & Communications

This program is responsible for the tourism council public relations and intergovernmental relations. It works with local and regional media outlets in promoting and publicizing regional events. It deals on behalf of the tourism council with federal, state, local and private sector matters relating to tourism development in the region. It also prepares tourism council Calendar of Events and quarterly Blackstone Valley Visitor Guides.

• Group Travel & Tourism

Through extensive outreach and planning, the program serves the needs of group travelers and visitors to schedule and arrange itineraries to introduce visitors to the various aspects of the Blackstone River Valley. It works with group tour developers, corporate tour leaders, educational and senior citizen tour planners and motor coach operators to capture their business in offering customized tour packages.

• River Programs

The tourism council owns and operates the Blackstone Valley Explorer, a Coast Guard certified 49-passenger river vessel offering seasonal American Heritage River Tours of the Blackstone River in Rhode Island. The Blackstone Valley Explorer was launched in 1993 and serves as a tour boat along the Blackstone River offering visitors interpretive historic, cultural, environmental and recreational tours from landings in Central Falls and Woonsocket.

The tourism council also owns and operates a 10-passenger river craft, Spirit of the Blackstone Valley, which can be available for tours in Pawtucket, Lincoln and Woonsocket, the inland waters of Northern Rhode Island, and the Blackstone Gorge in Blackstone, Massachusetts and the Blackstone Canal in Uxbridge, MA.

For a unique experience on the Blackstone River, the tourism council operates a floating B&B the Samuel Slater Canal Boat, which can sleep four.  The Samuel Slater is also available for twilight cruises, wine & cheese cruises, and offers British Tea Tours in the summer and fall.

All programs aboard our vessels are managed by a River Engineer and staffed by trained crew.

• Educational Programs

Because of the region's strong ethnic cultural diversity and ecological importance to Rhode island and New England, the Blackstone Valley Explorer also serves as a floating laboratory offering river classrooms in Central Falls and Woonsocket to students from K-12.   Cultural programs aboard the Explorer offer historic interpretation on the heritage, development and social aspects of the Blackstone River Valley and may also include specialized walks throughout the valley.  These programs are managed by an Educational Coordinator.