Selling the Belfast-to-Rockland region to tourists as one package could pay off for all communities in the area, a marketing consultant is telling area Chambers of Commerce.

But an area Chamber director says he disagrees with that strategy, arguing that it would be at cross-purposes with the state’s marketing scheme, which packages the region from Brunswick to Searsport – a broader area – as one entity: the midcoast.

Noreen Copp, who operates Prism Development Associates, was invited to speak at the annual meeting of the Camden Downtown Business Group last week. One of Copp’s clients is the Capital Riverfront Improvement District, which is marketing the Augusta-Hallowell-Gardiner area.

In a telephone interview Friday, Copp said midcoast towns and cities – considered collectively – represent an economic powerhouse.

The Camden-Rockland area ranks ninth in the state as a labor market area, with Belfast, the 14th largest. But considered as one, the region is the fourth-largest labor market in the state, Copp said.

Rockland and its surroundings make up the 15th-largest economy in the state, with 2001 retail sales of $279 million; the Belfast area ranks 21st, with 2001 retail sales of $151 million; and Camden and its surroundings rank 22nd, with 2001 retail sales of $148 million.

But when the three areas are combined, the region is the sixth-largest economy in the state, with total retail sales of more than $579 million.

Copp argues that a region should be defined by shopping and work patterns, and by the way tourists view it.

Since Belfast is a little more than 25 miles from Rockland, commuting from one end of the region to the other for work or shopping is possible. Making day trips from within the region is also easy for tourists staying in any of the communities, she said.

Those in the area who are working to increase tourism, especially in Belfast and Rockland, say the struggle has been to get visitors to stay for longer periods – particularly in Belfast and Rockland. Many visitors stay for a day or two, then move on to tourist draws like Mount Desert Island.

Key to marketing the area so tourists would consider the Rockland-to-Belfast area a destination point is to break down any barriers of competition between the cities, Copp said.

Among her recommendations: Businesses and chambers of commerce in the area should share information with each other, including e-mail and street addresses of those who visit.

By joining forces, the area could develop a regular e-mail or hard copy correspondence with visitors, touting the musical lineup for the next area festival, and even such small developments as changes to menus at area restaurants or expansions of retail stores.

Another marketing tool, Copp said, would be for motels and inns to send out a list of all the attractions in the area each time a lodging reservation is made.

Simply put, by combining marketing efforts, the towns could increase their clout, she said.

As important as the group effort is, Copp said, the individual communities should work to differentiate themselves or they risk tourists concluding that a visit to one is like a visit to all.

“I think they have to get really clear about who they are,” Copp said. Rather than the towns representing slices of a pie, she said, the metaphor she prefers is that of a deli tray, with different types of offerings.

Though Copp’s model was embraced by some members of the Camden Downtown Business Group, not everyone was impressed with it.

Greg Dugal, executive director of the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber of Commerce, attended Copp’s presentation and said promoting the stretch of coastal communities from Thomaston to Searsport as one entity would at best duplicate existing efforts, and at worst compete with and confuse the area’s marketing message.

“Something already exists,” he said.

Dugal said the state Department of Tourism divides Maine into eight regions. The midcoast region is defined from the Bath-Brunswick area north and east to Searsport and Stockton Springs.

The Camden area and Rockland area Chambers already work together, he said, and to some degree with the volunteer-run Belfast Chamber. The Camden and Rockland Chambers won a $64,000 state grant for 2002, and $80,000 for next year to expand Web sites and improve printed guidebooks for the area, Dugal said.