Courtesy / Downs & St. Germain Research
A slide from the presentation by research firm Downs & St. Germain shows what some 2020 visitors had to say about Maine.
May 4, 2021
Promising numbers spell reason for optimism, Maine tourist industry members told
Image / Maine Office of Tourism video
A promotional slide from the Maine Office of Tourism show at this week's annual Governor's Conference on Tourism.
By Maureen Milliken
A focus on local travel, numbers that grew as the year wore on, the perception of Maine as a safe and friendly place and high visitor satisfaction helped keep the Maine tourism industry afloat in 2020 and bodes well for 2021, those in the industry were told Tuesday morning.
"Maine is well-positioned to welcome visitors," Gov. Janet Mills told attendees at the annual Governor's Conference on Tourism, as she touted Maine as "the safest state in the nation."
In 2020, more than 12 million visitors came to Maine, and while it was just a fraction of the 37.3 million who visited in 2019, the tourists visited despite months of quarantine, shutdowns and travel restrictions. A silver lining is that Mainers traveled around the state like they never had before, helping to support local businesses and discovering regions and activities that were new to them, said Steve Lyons, commissioner of the Maine Office of Tourism.
Lyons and Heather Johnson, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said the hard work and ability to adapt by the businesses that support tourism — including food, retail, lodging and other related sectors — is what helped the state get to the promising place it is now.
"You sealed the deal," Johnson told conference attendees.
"There are promising trends," Lyons said. "We've all heard of pent-up demand." He said reports of airline travel searches, national publications touting Maine as a destination and the fact many who travel internationally in the summer are now looking to stay in the U.S. all will benefit Maine's tourism industry.
Lyons that not only did campaigns during the shutdowns to get Mainers to travel around the state and buy locally pay off, but national campaigns to promote Maine as a safe state gained traction as the year wore on, particularly at the end of summer and in the fall.
At the end of 2019, the tourism office contracted with Downs & St. Germain, a Florida-based travel market research company, to dive into Maine's tourism statistics as well as economic impact. Data for the year, specifically, would show the impact tourism had on businesses and specific sectors.
The pandemic upended that, but 2020 statistics were still telling, said Joseph St. Germain, president and partner in the firm.
The overall budget for all Maine Office of Tourism programs was $18.4 million for 2020 and 2021, and statistics show that for ever dollar spent, $1.16 in money from tourism was generated.
"There's good news," St. Germain said. "Things are looking up."
Maine visitor satisfaction high
St. Germain said that visitor satisfaction — 98% of 2020 visitors would recommend Maine to a friend or relative — is well above average.
"We rarely see numbers that high," he said. "People like coming to Maine, and the want to recommend it to their friends, they want to recommend it to family."
He said that top perceptions of Maine from those surveyed were that it was safe, friendly, beautiful and had a focus on community and local businesses that appealed to people.
Other numbers from 2020 are:
- 12 million people visited Maine last year;
- About 2 million were visiting Maine for the first time;
- Visitor spending generated $9 billion in economic impact;
- Visitor spending was $4.8 billion;
- Visitor spending supported 90,600 jobs;
- Visitor spending supported $3.2 billion in wages;
- Visitors generated 7.4 million room-nights (this included traditional lodging, vacation rentals, camping and more);
- 74% of tourists, including Mainers doing in-state trips, came from six states, with 29% from Maine, 16% from Massachusetts, 14% from New Hampshire, 6% from New York, 5% from Connecticut and 4% from Florida;
- 3% of visitors were from Canada (in 2019 it was 17%), and St. Germaine said most of those were from early in 2020, before the border closed;
- 57% of visitors surveyed were female; 67% married or in a domestic partnership; average household income of visitors was $81,300 and 1 in 6 visitors had an annual household income of more than $150,000;
- 86% drove to get to Maine;
- 31% were day visitors;
- The average overnight stay was 5.3 nights; and
- 3 out of 5 visitors went to other regions in the state besides their primary destination.
Last year, early on, the tourism office focused campaigns for Mainers — Revisit ME, which encouraged in-state travel; Trip Tips, which provided a platform for people to recommend businesses and activities; and Keep in Local, which promoted local businesses.
Earlier this year, it launched the Look Out for ME campaign, which promotes responsible outdoor recreation.
It's also marketing the state in national publications, as well as looking for marketing opportunities in places other than traditional travel sources, something that was already part of the tourism office's five-year comprehensive plan.
The tourism conference continues today and Wednesday, with focuses on trends and workforce, as well as a deeper dive into the research methodology by Phillip Downs, of Downs & St. Germain on Wednesday.
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