Iconic Boston duck boats hope to open this summer

BOSTON — They are an iconic sight around Boston and a sure sign of summer, but the duck boats are nowhere to be seen in the city.

Like so many businesses, Boston Duck Tours is closed due to COVID-19.

“I have more questions than answers and when you get some answers it leads to even more questions," said Cindy Brown, CEO of Boston Duck Tours.

But one thing Brown is sure of is that it won’t be business as usual if they get the green light to operate from the state.

Brown said they would need at least 25% capacity to resume tours, but that is a really low number. A typical tour can hold up to 35 passengers, plus a driver and narrator.

“It’s going to be really challenging with the current regulations to open safely at a high quality and also profitability. That’s our number one. We can’t continue to drain money the way we have been over the past couple of months,” Brown commented.

She said cleaning supplies and protective equipment for their 28 vehicles is incredibly expensive and social distancing, including the 6-foot-rule, will also be a huge hurdle.

"So it would be a very manual process of placing people in particular seats to make sure the group that wants to take the tour is spaced from other people on board. So that’s our biggest challenge,” Brown said.

Brown has a goal of opening sometime this summer, even if it’s late in the season. Right now they are focusing on the local market and New Englanders coming into the city.

“As much as we want to get on the road, we’re curious to see will there be visitors in Boston. Will there be tourists, will the hotels be open? We know that the international market is basically gone for this year. We know that the cruise ship market is going to be minimal, if at all this fall,” she said.

The Swan Boats, which pedal around the Public Garden Lagoon, said they are on hold indefinitely until further notice.

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- Massachusetts Coronavirus Information

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