Maine can’t be all things to all people, and it shouldn’t try.

A study conducted for the Maine Office of Tourism asked visitors to the state to rank their experiences. All in all, the state did pretty well. Maine gets good scores for being family friendly and for its outdoor activities. Not surprisingly, the state scores more poorly when it comes to categories like night life and entertainment.

We think we know why. When people visit Maine, oftentimes they’re trying to escape the fast-paced life of urban New England. They’re looking for beaches where they can leisurely read a book without worrying too much about the kids, or looking for crystal clear lake waters, cold and refreshing for an afternoon dip. They want lobster and seafood, quaint villages and souvenir shacks stocked with plenty of miniature lighthouses.

Most of the tourists who visit Maine come from the Northeast, where there’s every urban amenity that could be imagined. Maine is the refuge from that rat race. It’s easy to visit and hard to leave.

People looking for a party, a concert or play can find one. Many visitors just aren’t looking.

We recently spent time with a family visiting from Atlanta who spent a couple of days in Bar Harbor. They rented bicycles and rode through Acadia National Park, they strolled through town and had a couple of great meals. They’re nuts about lobsters, and had nothing but good things to say about their stay in the state.

Maine’s not Manhattan, Boston or Las Vegas, and as fun as those places are, we shouldn’t want it to be. Our strengths lie elsewhere. We have a great product; we need to do a better job of telling people about it.