Bar Harbor attractions facing 'massive cancellations' this summer

Photo / Laurie Schreiber A lone cyclist rode the largely empty roads on the “quiet side” of Mount Desert Island over Memorial Day weekend.

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By Staff

The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce is reporting “massive amounts of cancellations for June and guests have started cancelling their July and August reservations, as well.”

Executive Director Alf Anderson said the chamber “wants everyone to know that we are working hard on behalf of all members, especially, in this case, our seasonal hospitality businesses that rely on visitors from beyond the state of Maine," he wrote in a Facebook post.

In a May 20 letter the chamber urged Gov. Janet Mills to eliminate the 14-day quarantine requirement for out-of-state visitors, "to save not only the local businesses of Bar Harbor, but the livelihood of their families, employees, our community and so many others in this state that depend on tourism to put food on their table.”

The plea comes at a crucial time for tourism destinations, which are wrestling with how to follow guidelines while trying to "salvage some of our short season," the letter said. Out-of-state visitors make up the majority of the summer influx, with Maine residents typically accounting for just 10% of Bar Harbor’s visitation.

Memorial Day Weekend is typically the kickoff to Bar Harbor’s short tourist season, but the bulk of the town’s lodging properties were closed. At a recent board meeting, lodging members informed the board that, based on current occupancy forecasts, they might not open at all this season, and those who own several properties might only open a portion of their businesses.

“Almost every business in Bar Harbor relies on the visitors that stay in our local lodging establishments,” the letter said. “If lodging cannot open, many of our businesses will fail. There is not enough in-state visitation business to support our local businesses.”

The letter assured Mills that, in addition to state guidelines for a safe and healthy environment, the board created its own best practices document that was forwarded previously to Maine Department of Economic Community Development Commissioner Heather Johnson, The board urged Mills to remove the 14-day quarantine by June 1 at the latest.

Of Bar Harbor’s dozens of hotels and inns, the chamber listed only four that were open.

At Acadia National Park, the island’s top draw, the Park Loop Road was open to pedestrians and bicyclists but closed to motor vehicles, and hiking trails were open. But all park roads, facilities, restrooms, carriage roads, campgrounds and visitor centers were closed.

Service by the island’s seasonal shuttle bus service, the Island Explorer, was postponed indefinitely, according to its website.

The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce and several organizations in Maine to launch a campaign to support communities, called Pay It Forward Maine (#payitforwardmaine). The campaign is designed to allow communities “to discover ways they can still support their favorite establishments over the next few months, whether monetarily or through simply spending time,” according to the chamber’s website.