VAN BUREN — Van Buren Chamber of Commerce members learned what is being done to lure tourists to the area at their annual breakfast meeting Saturday.

Guest speaker David Potter has been instrumental in organizing a regional tourism plan in his role as a planner with the Northern Maine Regional Planning Commission and as a leader of the St. John Valley Visitors Bureau.

Potter said international tourism brings hundreds of billions of dollars into the United States and is the only area in which this country has a trade surplus.

It is Maine’s largest source of employment, and by the year 2000 is expected to be the largest industry in the country.

In 1991, visitors spent $2.75 billion in Maine. Nearly $80 million was spent in Aroostook County, most of it from January to May. Occupancy at Aroostook’s lodging facilities averaged 48 percent, Potter said. “That tells us that we have excess capacity,” he said.

Though the St. John Valley has no major attraction like Disney Land or the Grand Canyon, it does have a series of smaller attractions on both sides of the border which could be marketed as a package.

The area might best be known for recreational and natural resources, among them the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, the St. John River, the Fish River chain of lakes and a system of interconnected snowmobile trails.

However, the area also boasts nine nationally registered historical sites, a rich culture and many festivals and events.

Potter said regional tourism groups are best at luring “impulse travelers” who live within a four-hour drive. The St. John Valley Visitors Bureau coordinates public and private support for its work, which includes developing a tourism strategy; inventories of attractions, events and facilities; and assessing the quality of tourist services.

The Maine Publicity Bureau’s efforts are mostly aimed at more distant markets. Maine’s Office of Tourism concentrates on attracting tourists at the national and international level.

The valley has much to gain from tourism, but it will not happen overnight, Potter said. “It’s a long-term process and we’re all volunteers,” he said. However, he noted, the volunteers are committed and have the support of state and local government and the valley’s business base.

In other action, the chamber arranged to have the Fort Kent Lions Club stage its Pride of the Lions show at the Van Buren District Secondary School auditorium on Saturday, May 22. Profits will be used for the park shelter, Raus said.

Chamber members also elected the following directors: Michael Watt, Brooks Drugs; Cecile Roy, Abel J. Morneault Memorial Library; Thomas Hebert, Hebert’s Rexall Drugs; Louis Morneault, Morno Real Estate; Steve Perreault, Van Buren Tulsa; and Sheila Cyr, Farrell-Michaud House.