Drawing Tourists

An analysis of the impact of proposed development in the Moosehead Lake area released this week by Eastern Maine Development Corp. provides many interesting ideas about improving roads, ensuring landfill capacity and worker housing. But the most important aspect of the report is its assessment of the region’s tourism potential and why it has faded in recent decades.

Tourism is not the state or region’s only industry, but it is the largest in terms of revenue. Therefore, drawing visitors to Maine and Greenville is important and both have lost their edge. The development proposal by Plum Creek Timber Co., which includes two resorts and nearly 1,000 house lots, would be one way to get it back.

“The Moosehead region has historically been a tourist destination, but has lost its anchor hotels,” the EMDC report says. In other words, there are too few nice places for people to stay. This mirrors findings for the state as a whole by Longwoods International, a Canadian travel consulting firm that annually evaluates how many people come to Maine, how long they stay, what they do and what they spend.

Maine’s biggest strengths were its outdoor activities. This state far surpassed the national norm in skiing and snowboarding, river rafting, canoeing and kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, camping, hunting, fishing and scenery. But, it lacks first-class hotels, sophisticated restaurants and conference and meeting facilities, according to the Longwoods assessment.

The Maine woods should not be turned into Orlando, and the coast should not look like Fort Lauderdale. But if the region wants to entice more people, have them stay longer and make the region stronger financially, building more high-end places to eat and stay is one answer. And it is an answer that would also support rafting, biking, hiking or other outdoor activities.

Increasingly, tourists – especially the baby boomer generation which finds itself with time and money on its hands – want to do something outdoors and then retreat to a well-appointed lodge or hotel. Or as EMDC puts it, “The current tourist market prefers higher quality facilities, compared to the more rustic accommodations that have been available in the region.”

In other words, they want the kind of resort that existed beside Mount Kineo a hundred years ago; the kind of resort that Plum Creek proposes to build at Lily Bay and near Moose Mountain.

As the Land Use Regulation Commission continues to evaluate the Plum Creek application, the size and location of the development, the value of conservation easements the impact on surrounding communities will be closely scrutinized. It doesn’t need to start from scratch. Resorts have been built around the country, some even on land Plum Creek sold to developers. A few phone calls, a visit or two could answer a lot of questions.

The EMDC study provides further evidence that resorts will draw more visitors to Maine and the Moosehead region. Whether the proposed development is too big and too spread out is another question.