PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Tourism appears to be enjoying a rise in The County base on a recent study.
According to an annual report conducted by the research firm Davidson Peterson Associates in partnership with the Maine Office of Tourism, Aroostook County has seen an upward trend of tourists who visit each year. In particular, those who are young outdoor enthusiasts are discovering the wonders of The County.
And there is great potential to tap into unique local features to attract even more tourists, the report states.
The Aroostook County Regional Tourism Impact Estimates show that roughly 1.4 million people who do not currently live in the area visited in 2017, the same number as 2016. Those visitors spent an average of $155 million on local products and services such as retail shopping, lodging, gas and fuel and restaurants, which brought $53.3 million to the region’s economy and $14.3 million in total taxes.
A similar DPA study that looked at Maine tourism as a whole, notes that Aroostook County experienced the lowest number of both overnight and day visitors– four percent — in 2017 — while southern regions of the state such as the Maine Beaches, Downeast and Acadia and The Maine Highlands either maintained or saw small increases.
Alain Ouellette, planning and development division director for the Northern Maine Development Commission, stated that although those numbers do not reveal a significant increase in tourists overall, he has seen more hopeful figures surrounding younger tourists, who tend to gravitate toward the region’s outdoor activities and unique cultural history.
“We’ve seen an interesting trend of more younger individuals visiting this region. About 29 percent of day visitors in 2017 were under the age of 35,” Ouellette said. “Many of them were interested in hiking, climbing, backpacking, ATV and snowmobile trails.”
Although 64 percent of all tourists who visited in 2017 were those who came to visit family members and relatives, one third of overnight visitors were those who had never been to the region before. In recent years Aroostook County Tourism, a standing committee of NMDC, has brought forth a more aggressive online and social media marketing strategy to market The County to people who might not be aware of the region’s unique features.
With the help of marketing grants from the Maine Office of Tourism as well as outside consultants, the committee has created a database of individuals who contact them or the MOT for information on Aroostook County vacation destinations. They regularly send those individuals ACT’s online newsletter and blog which showcase local events, historic and cultural venues and seasonal outdoor activities.
Long-terms goals include creating a County-wide marketing plan that considers the specific features and tourism opportunities for each region and regularly meeting with a group of local municipality officials, economic development coordinators and other community leaders to develop more effective strategies for attracting tourists from Maine, New England and beyond.
“We need to develop a full plan for what we want to accomplish within the tourism industry up here, not just a wish list, so that more people will want to come back and visit year after year,” Ouellette said.
Donna Moreland, destination development specialist for the Maine Office of Tourism, has been working with Aroostook County Tourism for the past year and a half to develop an “inventory of assets” that the region can focus on within their marketing plan.
Most recently the MOT commissioned Destination International, a professional organization representing destination marketing organizations and visitor bureaus, to conduct a survey of individuals who are involved in the tourism industry, such as owners of lodging services, retail stores and outdoor facility managers.
The survey results recommend that Aroostook County officials tap into community support and regional amenities such as visitor services, transportation and activities to make the area a leisure destination for tourists.
“It’s clear that we shouldn’t focus on creating one iconic attraction and instead look at how to create authentic, engaging experiences for people who come to Aroostook County,” Moreland said. “Tourists want to actually experience the region they visit instead of only coming for a big show or event.”
Ouellette believes that through such discussions and collaborations, The County can in time become a place that appears in tourists’ minds as quickly as the beaches of coastal Maine.
“If you ask people who are tourists why they come back here, the culture is a big part. The degree in which people feel a real sense of belonging when they visit, like they’re welcomed, is distinctive and noteworthy,” Ouellette said. “That’s something we can identify as an experience unique to Aroostook County.”
