PORTLAND – Maine officials are betting that a 50 percent increase in spending to promote tourism will reverse a dip in travel to the state famous for its “Vacationland” license plates.

A $2.2 million funding boost, made possible by a new allocation from Maine’s meals and lodging tax, is the centerpiece of the state’s new five-year tourism plan, unveiled Tuesday at a news conference in Portland.

Dann Lewis, director of the state Office of Tourism, said Maine has spent $4.6 million annually on tourism since 1997, ranking 40th among states.

After travel to Maine declined in 2000, the Legislature dedicated a new stream of tax revenue to promote tourism. So the state next year plans to spend more than $6.8 million, which would rank ahead of New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut, and 31st nationally. However, Gov. Angus King has proposed cutting tourism spending by $118,000.

Lewis said that in 2001, out-of-state visitors to Maine remained stable or may even have increased, despite the travel sector’s woes after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

“I have not been too pessimistic about the effects of the September event and even the recent recession,” said Lewis, noting Maine’s proximity to major population centers in the Northeast. “People are reluctant to fly. Our major markets are within a day’s drive.”

Participants in King’s annual tourism conference this week will critique the five-year action plan, which is slated to take effect this spring. The plan was drafted by state tourism officials after a series of forums with industry representatives.

Lewis said that 75 percent of Maine’s tourism spending this summer will go to TV advertising heavily concentrated in Northeast cities like New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Some 65 percent of out-of-state visitors to Maine come from nearby states.

The TV ads will continue to feature images like water, lobsters and lighthouses, making emotional appeals to people who have never visited Maine.

The most significant boost in funding next year will go to the state’s eight travel regions. Each region currently receives only about $10,000 annually. That will increase to an average of $68,000.

“Many of the regional groups expressed interest in getting more regional-specific market advertising,” Lewis said. Areas reliant on visitors from within Maine obtain little benefit from ads airing in New York, he pointed out.

Tourism accounts for 10 percent to 15 percent of Maine’s economic activity, generating $5.4 billion in revenues from U.S. visitors alone, Lewis said. He estimated that the state earns at least $4 for every $1 it spends on tourism.