PORTLAND – The popular notion that the Maine coast sells itself and requires no marketing effort to attract visitors has been contradicted by the findings of a prominent state economist.

Charles Colgan concluded that Maine and the rest of New England trail most other states in attracting coastal tourists, with Maine ranked 25th among the 30 coastal states in the rate of growth in ocean tourism and recreation between 1990 and 2000.

Colgan’s figures show that employment in eight key business sectors grew nationally by 36 percent during that 10-year period. New England grew by 26 percent, while Maine registered 19 percent. The fastest growing states in ocean tourism and recreation were Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

“Even when we are growing and robust and feel good about ourselves, we aren’t gaining ground on our competitors, said Colgan, a professor of public policy and management at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School.

Colgan’s figures are a spinoff of research he’s doing for a federal study on business activity along coastal areas for the National Ocean Economics Project.

Maine’s standing doesn’t surprise Nat Bowditch, assistant director at the Maine Office of Tourism. The Gulf Coast states, for instance, have a higher population density, warmer weather and a better investment climate, he said. The challenge for Maine’s coastal tourism economy, Bowditch said, is to continue to expand its appeal beyond the summer months to become a year-round destination.

“We know we are lagging,” Bowditch said.

Separate research done for the tourism office indicates that Maine captured 3.5 percent of the Northeast tourist market in 2002, and that the number is static or dropping slightly. By comparison, New Jersey led with 15 percent of the regional market.

Colgan’s research, which targets businesses located in ZIP codes adjacent to the ocean or Great Lakes, found that Rhode Island’s tourist- and recreation-related employment grew by 37 percent, the highest in New England. Connecticut grew by 30 percent, Maine and Massachusetts went up by 19 percent and New Hampshire by 18 percent.

Elsewhere, Oregon saw a drop in employment in ocean tourism and recreation of 4 percent. Hawaii saw the most striking decline, more than 40 percent.

Within Maine, York and Cumberland counties had the slowest rate of growth in the decade, 3 percent. The fastest growth took place in Knox and Waldo counties, hitting nearly 60 percent.

“York and Cumberland are essentially full,” Colgan said. “Growth, as it has over the past three decades, will spread down the coast.”