PORTLAND – Maine’s tourism industry is nervous about the impact President Bush’s request to conserve gasoline will have on potential visitors, especially as the fall leaf-peeping season dawns.

While half of Maine’s overnight visitors come in July, August and September, October has become an increasingly important month for tourism, as travelers come to Maine to see the colorful leaves, county fairs and other attractions.

But in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which disrupted fuel supplies and sent prices soaring, Bush asked Americans to avoid unnecessary trips to conserve fuel.

“The tourism industry across the country will probably be ruing the day he said that,” said Dann Lewis, Maine’s tourism director. “I think it’s an unfortunate statement for him to make when the country is in a recovery effort.”

Maine draws more than $6 billion a year from visitors to the state, making tourism a leading employer and pillar of the state’s economy. Seven out of 10 travel dollars in Maine are spent by out-of-state visitors, and most of those visitors arrive by car.

Bill White, president-elect of the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce, said he was “astonished” to hear the president ask people to drive less.

“If we were driving more fuel-efficient vehicles, it wouldn’t be as much of an issue,” said White, who believes the government should do more to discourage big SUVs.

Bush was not necessarily saying that people should curtail vacation travel, said White House spokesman Ken Lisaius. Bush was appealing to Americans to curtail nonessential travel in order to make sure gasoline supplies are available nationwide.

“There is a reality to these storms,” Lisaius said.

Retail gasoline prices peaked nationally at $3.05 a gallon on Labor Day. They had been falling over the past few weeks before edging up a penny Tuesday, to $2.81 a gallon, according to AAA. The average price in Maine on Tuesday was $2.76.