TOURISM’S HIGH-END FUTURE

Longtime statehouse grumbling has had the state’s tourism office acting like summer visitors after four days of rain – absent and therefore unhelpful to Maine’s soggy economy. The brand new head of economic development here, John Richardson, an attorney and former House speaker, addressed that charge recently by removing the director of tourism and replacing him with Patricia Eltman, a lobbyist and former House speaker chief of staff.

The risk for the Baldacci administration in this change is that it has announced political skills are more important than economic-development or tourism-industry experience. Complaints about the former tourism director, Dann Lewis, are now being followed by complaints about cronyism in the administration. But it’s only cronyism if Mr. Richardson and Ms. Eltman fail at their jobs. (If they succeed, members of the media will observe that they saw these hires as the kind of shrewd decisions only insiders would appreciate.)

Meanwhile, Maine’s largest industry, tourism, has a lot more room to grow. In a recent report, Longwoods International said Maine surpasses the national average in attracting visitors for rafting, kayaking, hiking, hunting and fishing. But the state is lacking in first-class hotels and sophisticated restaurants.

Longwoods data of non-Maine residents between 2001 and 2005 shows growth of tourism expenditures – transportation, accommodation, food and recreation – of around 26 percent. But Longwoods recent reporting also shows that Maine lags behind the national average in attracting visitors with annual incomes over $75,000. (The study also found that affordability was low on travelers’ priority lists, lending support to the Brookings Institution proposal to raise the state’s meals and lodging tax to support land conservation and economic development efforts.)

Last fall, economist Charles Colgan warned that Maine could see a sluggish tourism season this summer because of slow national economic growth, weather and turnpike traffic. The solution, he says, is to draw more visitors to Maine for multiple nights. That demands more attractions and a greater variety of places for visitors to enjoy.

The work of the tourism director is not only to protect the tourism budget in the Legislature – the money comes from a dedicated tax percentage but has been swiped before by lawmakers. It is also to help by setting policy to make Maine more visitor-friendly, diversify rural economies and relentlessly sell Maine to the world. The work by Longwoods and Mr. Colgan are clear enough: High-end tourists will stay longer and spend more in a greater variety of weather if they are offered a higher-quality experience.

Whether Ms. Eltman can deliver in her role on this will be seen in the next couple of months, but for now the policies that might help bring this about are more important than the latest round of statehouse gossip.