Boston tourism community is ‘very optimistic’ for start of summer with NBA Finals, U.S. Open, other events coming up

Local restaurants and hotels are expected to be filled to the brim this month as a packed schedule of high-profile events draw people to the region for the start of summer.

An international spotlight will be shining down on the area as the Celtics head to the NBA Finals and the U.S. Open comes to Brookline. Those major sporting events, along with other happenings in the city, are sparking hope for the local tourism community.

“We’re very optimistic for the start of summer,” Martha Sheridan, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, told the Herald on Wednesday.

“It should be very successful for the entire tourism community based on the number of events we have happening here,” she added.

Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals will be this Thursday and Sunday in San Francisco as the Celtics head to the West Coast to battle the Golden State Warriors.

Then the series will shift to Boston with Games 3 and 4 in the Hub next week.

“We’re really looking forward to those Finals games in the city,” Sheridan said. “It fills the arena and hotels and restaurants.

“Home or away, people just want to be in a place surrounded by their fellow Celtics fans, so restaurants and bars will also do well when the games are in San Francisco,” she added.

The U.S. Open is set for June 16 to 19 at The Country Club in Brookline. About 35,000 attendees are expected for the major golf tournament.

It has been more than three decades since the Boston-area hosted a major golf tourney.

“This is definitely a special treat to have that event in Brookline,” Sheridan said.

The benefit of having the Celtics in the Finals and the U.S. Open here goes beyond the immediate economic impact in the city, she said.

“It helps with boosting the brand of the city nationally and internationally,” Sheridan said, noting how the Finals and U.S. Open will include several “beauty shots” of Boston during the TV broadcasts. “An absolute positive bonus of having these events, and it certainly solidifies us as a great sports city.”

Other big events this month include concerts at Fenway Park, as Paul McCartney has two shows next week. Also, the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series is this weekend at the Institute of Contemporary Art in the Seaport.

“It’s definitely a popular event, drawing spectators to the day for that really exciting activity,” Sheridan said.

Looking ahead to July, the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular will be returning to the Hatch Memorial Shell to celebrate the Fourth of July on the Charles River Esplanade.

Sheridan said, “It will be absolutely wonderful to have that celebration back again.”