Don’t overlook tourism and recreation as economic drivers
In the early 1980s my client, U.S. Steel, was suffering from the general economic downturn and import issues constricting the domestic steel industry. Chairman David Roderick stood before his stockholders and, in a simple, single-minded sentence, told his audience how his company would deal with this potentially devastating situation: “Get the most out of what you've got,” he said.
Given the dramatic, ongoing decline and fall of Maine's traditional manufacturing businesses, it's hard to see how to apply that sage advice to our situation. But one segment of our economy continues to grow and contribute mightily to the economic health of our state. And we are not getting the most out of it.
That product is recreation.
That product accounts for 88,000 Maine jobs, $5.2 billion in sales and contributes $470 million in taxes to the state. Our sea coast, lakes, mountains, ski areas, golf courses, state and national parks, hunting and fishing venues, snowmobile and ATV trails, restaurants, museums, theaters and other year-round recreation opportunities attracted 30 million visitors last year, up 7% from the year before.
And yet our state leaders and agencies, our legislature, the media and much of our general population treats recreation like a red-headed stepchild. Certainly, we should be looking for growth in other manufacturing and service segments, but we should not neglect Maine's most likely and proven source of economic growth.
In September, Mainebiz offered its 20th anniversary issue and listed 11 distinct “key Maine industries” — including manufacturing, agriculture, banking, commercial fishing, shipbuilding — but not a word about recreation, the largest, most vibrant and most productive industry in the state.
A Portland Press Herald editorial called on Maine to “look past mills” and create new jobs in research and development, education and new industries. The lengthy editorial never even mentioned recreation and tourism as an economic strength or source of future growth.
A recent well-attended symposium promoting economic growth featured 12 “visionaries” along with 18 workshop luminaries, none of whom featured credentials in the recreation segment of our economy.
Why is there such reluctance to recognize recreation as a key to our economic future?
The most common perception of recreation is that it offers minimum wage, part-time or menial jobs. Yes, just like manufacturing, we do have entry-level jobs at or a bit higher than minimum wage. But even our food servers and housekeepers do far better than minimum wage. And many prefer part-time status because they have spouses with full-time jobs and need that flexibility to look after their families.
There seems to be little recognition of our full-time, well-paid jobs in management, sales, marketing, accounting, security, human resources — many of which require at least a bachelor's degree and/or advanced training. These challenging and rewarding careers offer a bright future for Maine's young people.
And I know of no industry that offers the upward mobility of recreation. Virtually every one of our key supervisors and management-level employees started in an entry-level position and worked their way up.
As we seek to strengthen Maine's economy with new ideas and attempt to attract new companies in all segments to enjoy “The way life should be,” let's focus on the opportunity at hand:
• Embrace recreation as an important and growing segment of Maine's economy.
• Understand the opportunity, upward mobility, and diversity of careers recreation offers.
• Provide young people with the education needed to take advantage of these opportunities.
• Support recreation and the resulting tourism revenue with promotional funds commensurate with the contribution to tax revenue.
Let's get the most out of what we've got.
Dick Rasor, a former marketing and advertising executive, has for the past 35 years been proprietor of the Bethel Inn Resort.
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