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The Maine Office of Tourism’s annual report on the economic impact of Maine’s tourism industry shows a 2.5% increase in visitations in 2017 over the previous year, with an estimated 36.7 million visitors.
But direct tourism spending, which includes retail sales, restaurant and food, lodging, recreation, transportation and gasoline, stayed flat — with the $6 billion in direct tourism expenditures reported for 2017 being only 0.4% higher than that $5.99 billion reported in 2016.
It was the fifth-consecutive year of visitation increases, which have shown an average annual increase of 5.7% since 2012.
In 2017, 5.3 million were first-time visitors.
Direct tourism expenditures in 2017 totaled over $6 billion, according to the 2017 annual report, with an overall economic impact of almost $9 billion. An estimated 106,806 jobs were supported by tourism in 2017.
Other highlights of the report, which was presented at the two-day annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Portland this week, include:
The conference, which was held at the Holiday Inn By the Bay, featured workshops and breakout sessions designed to help attendees develop creative marketing plans for this year’s tourism season.
Among the presentations:
In looking forward to this year’s tourism season, the Maine Office of Tourism reported in a news release that its creative materials for print, digital and television advertising will continue the values-based and “lifestyle” tourism marketing direction as expressed by its award-winning “This is Me” marketing campaign.
Positive results of its 2017 tourism marketing program include:
Kelly McDonald, a marketing and advertising guru who specializes in multicultural marketing and consumer trends, gave the conference’s keynote address on “Crafting the Customer Experience for People Not Like You.”
In a Q&A with Irwin Gratz, host of Maine Public Radio’s Morning Edition show, McDonald shared these tips:
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By the numbers: Highlights of 2017 tourism season
Also featured at this week's conference was presentations of the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism Awards, which recognize individuals, businesses and organizations that have distinguished themselves through their work and contributions to the growth of tourism in Maine.
“This is an opportunity for Maine’s tourism industry to honor those who are providing visitors with interesting new experiences,” said Steve Lyons, director of the Maine Office of Tourism. “It is gratifying to see the exciting work that is being done in our state, and to have this opportunity to recognize some of the outstanding representatives of Maine’s tourism industry.”
The 2018 award recipients are:
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Learn moreThe Giving Guide helps nonprofits have the opportunity to showcase and differentiate their organizations so that businesses better understand how they can contribute to a nonprofit’s mission and work.
Work for ME is a workforce development tool to help Maine’s employers target Maine’s emerging workforce. Work for ME highlights each industry, its impact on Maine’s economy, the jobs available to entry-level workers, the training and education needed to get a career started.
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