Fast-paced wooing. Strolling lobstermen. Western Maine hosts the annual Discover New England tourism conference. The objective?
Getting F.I.T.

NEWRY – David Kay knew exactly what he was looking for: a half-dozen hikes, 8- to 9-mile adventures no higher than 1,000 feet, accessible from nothing-fancy bed and breakfasts.

“(The British) want to see a view somewhere,” Kay said. “They don’t want to slog all day through trees.”

Frank Preble leaned in to hear through the din, and jotted notes.

Hikes. Views. Meals together. Separate baths.

Meet that criteria, the pair could do business.

Cath Pusey sat at her half-table a bit more open, waiting for something that caught her attention, something her U.K. customers might enjoy.

Dina Jackson pitched moose safaris.

Pusey was listening.

Another tourism speed date got under way.

Sunday River hosted the 14th annual Discover New England tourism conference this week, where 50-plus tour operators from the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, China, Japan and the Netherlands connected with hundreds of tourism-minded companies vying for their visitors.

Tourism is Maine’s biggest industry. When they come, international travelers spend an average of 14 days and $1,975, said Patricia Eltman, director of the Maine Office of Tourism.

The office is working toward better ways to track the state’s number of international tourists. However many it is, Eltman said, there’s room to grow.

What makes the European F.I.T. – Foreign Independent Travel – market so alluring: They book trips in advance. They don’t cancel lightly. And they get a whole lot of paid time off.

“They get 30 to 40 days and they don’t care what they’re doing; ‘I’m on vacation,'” said Preble of Landfall Custom Tours in Auburn. Plus, “The euro and pound are still fairly strong compared to our dollar. It’s a relative bargain for them to travel here.” Half of his small, custom tour groups are international.

The multi-day conference featured workshops and round after round of nine-minute, one-on-one pitch sessions in a packed Grand Summit Hotel conference space.

Some matches were quickly obvious; some seemed a little less meant to be.

Jackson, of Maine’s Lakes & Mountains Tourism Council in Auburn, grabbed a meeting with Pusey, product director for America As You Like It, after seeing they were looking for new regions for fly-and-drive packages. One tour already travels from Bar Harbor to New Hampshire.

Jackson touted Western Maine for opportunities such as moose safaris and panning for gold to a receptive Pusey, who praised the area as “stunningly beautiful.”

In another pitch, an operator told Jackson that Maine might be added to their list of bike tours – if four B&Bs each spread 25 miles apart got together and found a provider to rent the bikes, and service them.

“I view myself as a matchmaker,” Jackson said. “I want to learn what they want, see if we have what they need.”

The U.K. and Germany are both good fits, she said. “If I can show some of the Chamber (of Commerce) people and the people who actually own and sell the product, ‘Here are some opportunities.'”

Donald Haggett, director of sales for Lafayette hotels, met Booking.com at Discover New England last year. The Web site, which offers 24 languages, is the top hotel reservation search engine in Europe, account manager Les-Ann Woolcock said.

Haggett signed on to add seven of his properties, including the Fireside Inn & Suites in Auburn, to its system. Results have been promising.

“We can’t afford to place ads in Europe or hire translators or anything like that,” he said. “It really brings us into the global market. We just keep trying. You’d be surprised – that little hotel in Auburn, I’ll probably handle 25 to 30 Chinese tours this year.”

The New England states, which fund Discover New England, take turns with hosting duties. Six years ago, the event was at the Samoset Resort in Rockport.

Being the host community has its perks.

Before this year’s Newry event started, tour operators were treated to receptions at local inns and a choice of activities such as gem sluicing or a spa visit. Robin Zinchuk, executive director of the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce, led a hike up Grafton Notch.

“I had a kind of captive audience and I was talking about Bethel and why people come here year-round,” she said. “There’s just no way to pay for that kind of advertising. It’s been such a great thing for us.”

Organizers filled the event with Maine touches like maple syrup ice cream during break and lobstermen who walked the dining room and offered how-to eating tips during a lobster bake.

“Certainly, we feel like (this conference) is money in the bank for the future,” Zinchuk said.

Kay, product manager for Ramblers Holidays, said he’d never been to Maine before this week. He came with a specific programming hole to fill: He had a good relationship with a New York innkeeper who’s retiring.

He and Preble talked about ways to fill 10 days in a hiking trip that begins in Boston and ends in Montreal. To have the brochure ready to go in October, details would have to be firm by July.

“We can figure something out, absolutely,” Preble said.