Across northern Maine, ice shacks are ready for the start of ice fishing season on Jan. 1, and regional tourism leaders are hoping that the laid-back cold weather tradition also attracts visitors this winter.
Aroostook County Tourism, administered by the Northern Maine Development Commission, is in the midst of promoting its new online video called Ice Fishing In The County. While thousands of people will visit Aroostook County this winter to snowmobile, Aroostook County Tourism also is aiming to spread the word about winter activities such as skiing, dog sledding and ice fishing, said Alain Ouellette, NMDC planning and development division director.
“We’re marketing the assets of Aroostook County,” Ouellette said. “We have traditional family-based and non-motorized opportunities. We’re appealing to families and people who want to go off the beaten path and like the outdoors, history and culture.”
Aroostook County hosts good populations of fish such as rainbow smelt, trout, salmon and togue, and a range of water bodies that include everything from smaller ponds to the large lakes in the Fish River watershed.
A variety of outfitters and sporting lodges offer ice fishing packages to visitors, and Ouellette said it’s also a “marketing opportunity” that more businesses could tap into.
The Aroostook County Tourism promotional materials are produced with the marketing companies Thalo Blue and Sutherland Weston. In addition to ice fishing, the group is planning an effort to promote dog sled touring.
The overall goal of Aroostook County Tourism is to promote the many experiences that visitors and residents can enjoy in the region, Ouellette said.
“We have looked at the way we were marketing The County and we discovered it could be more effective if we approached it by way of experiences instead of destinations.”
