October in Salem, Massachusetts Breaks Visitor Record

Salem sees an almost 37% increase in visitors on Halloween 2024 over Halloween 2023

This year, Salem, Massachusetts broke visitation records on Halloween day with an almost 37% increase in the number of visitors from last year. Salem welcomed 87,351 visitors on October 31 this year as compared to 63,856 on October 31, 2023. October 2024 brought 1,040,600 visitors to Salem over the entire month, an 8.6% increase over October 2023. The incredibly warm, sunny weather combined with the national increase in consumer spending for Halloween and Salem’s unique history and reputation for the largest celebration of Halloween in the world has led to the increase in visitors.

Ashley Judge, Executive Director of Destination Salem, commented: “The beautiful warm weather on Halloween had an impact on how many folks came to celebrate with us. My husband, daughter, and I gave out 1,200 pieces of candy in an hour and 20 minutes! We live just a few houses away from the Ropes Mansion, Allison’s House in Hocus Pocus, the ‘third-most-googled home of all time’—so next year we’ll have to increase our candy haul!”

“This year we had the opportunity to share the city we all love with more visitors than ever,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo. “I want to thank all the City staff, the Destination Salem team, and all our community partners who make October possible here in Salem. I also want to thank residents for their patience throughout the season. Welcoming so many visitors to our community is no small feat, and we’re constantly reviewing ways we can improve on how we manage it all. We also know that, while there are impacts and challenges from October, our strong visitor economy is what keeps many of our small businesses in business, creating the vibrancy that we, as residents, get to enjoy all year round.”