Maine tourism officials optimistic about rebound

(The Center Square) – Maine’s tourism industry was hammered by the pandemic, with collective losses in the past year estimated at billions of dollars.

But heading into the traditionally busy Memorial Day weekend, state tourism officials are optimistic about the industry’s recovery.

Greg Dugal, of Hospitality Maine, says pent-up demand, reinforced by the lifting of restrictions and improved public health metrics, bode well for a busy season.

“It’s looking pretty good,” he said. “We’re hearing about an uptick in activity throughout the state, from the beaches along the south coast to rural inland areas.”

Dugal said hotels and other lodgings are reporting bookings for the summer that are at or above 2019, which was a profitable year for the state’s tourism industry.

Most of the visitors would likely be domestic, as many countries still have travel restrictions in place with COVID-19 infection rates still high. International visitors, particularly from Canada, represent a sizable portion of the state’s tourists every year.

Tourism officials say a rebound this summer would be welcomed by the state’s pandemic battered hotels, restaurants, theme parks and other hospitality industry businesses.

Maine’s tourism industry saw visitors decline by about 27% last year during the pandemic, attracting only a fraction of the 37 million who visited in 2019, according to the Maine Office of Tourism. Overall spending by visitors was about $9 billion last year, down from $12 billion in 2019, the agency said.

Gov. Janet Mills has taken steps to lift remaining COVID-19 restrictions — including limits on capacity and a state mask mandate — with new infections, hospitalizations and deaths declining in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the state eased travel restrictions that will no longer require people traveling to the state to quarantine or get a negative COVID-19 test. Tourism officials note that while the statewide mask mandate has been lifted, some communities and businesses have kept the restrictions in place as a precaution. One thing they could complicate the industry’s rebound is a hiring crunch that has the state holding job fairs and offering cash bonuses just to get people back to work. Many hospitality businesses are struggling to find workers to fill vacancies with tens of thousands of people still collecting generous unemployment benefits. Dugal said even with a rebound, any gains made by hospitality businesses this season will likely go toward offsetting losses in the past year. “Many businesses had to wipe several months off the map last year,” he said. “So there’s a lot of people who need to have a successful season, just to get back in the game.”

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