AUGUSTA (AP) — The Maine Office of Tourism, Ski Maine Association and Maine Snowmobile Association are collaborating to provide weekly reports on snow conditions across the state. The reports on visitmaine.com will be posted each Wednesday starting in January. Phil Savignano, senior tourism officer, says it’s important for people to know that there’s always snow […]
tourism
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Tourism revenue from summer 2016 could break records
PORTLAND — Officials say revenue generated from summer tourism in Maine is poised to break all previous records at the end of August. The Portland Press Herald reports that Maine Revenue Services data shows restaurant and lodging sales for this past summer increased For the four months ending Aug. 30, restaurant sales were up nearly […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine expects ‘typical foliage season’ despite drought
AUGUSTA — The state declared Wednesday the official start of Maine’s fall foliage season with little change in leaf color. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 2016 Fall Foliage Report showed less than 5 percent color change in northern Maine. Foliage is expected to reach peak color: Northern Maine: Last week of September into […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Local & State
Gov. Paul LePage turns awards lunch into political speech
NEWRY — Gov. Paul LePage used a state tourism conference’s typically light-and-happy awards ceremony as a political platform Tuesday, calling for everyone in the room to pass the word that current ballot initiatives — including raising the minimum wage — will have a catastrophic effect on the state. “(Tourism is) a great industry; it’s a […]
Posted inLocal & State
How to grow Maine’s $8 billion tourism industry
NEWRY — Everyone has outdoor recreation. Everyone says they’re unique. As a business, you need to find your niche, what makes you “you” — and then go get ’em. Marketing guru Roger Brooks opened the keynote at the annual Maine Governor’s Conference on Tourism on Tuesday with humor and endless advice to a crowd of […]
Posted inBusiness
Maine DECD says it will consider starting state-run EB-5 program
LEWISTON — The state of Maine may start its own visa program to help bring more direct foreign investment here, according to Maine Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner George Gervais. The state is looking at establishing a state-run EB-5 regional center, Gervais said. EB-5 visas provide foreign nationals with a way of obtaining green […]
Posted inLocal & State
In Portland, panhandlers cause friction amid growth of tourism, homelessness
With the U.S. Supreme Court declaring last week that bans on panhandling are unconstitutional, what’s seen as growing visibility of panhandlers in Portland has some in the city’s thriving tourism industry concerned the practice may make the city less attractive to visitors. Visitors interviewed on Congress Street, however, said they largely ignore panhandlers. And people […]
Posted inBusiness
LePage administration wants to deregulate Maine’s lodging
AUGUSTA — The governor wants to level the playing field between formal lodging places and homeowners who rent out rooms, homes or cabins to travelers, not by licensing the homes, but by de-regulating all hospitality businesses. The comment by Holly Lusk, senior health policy adviser for Gov. Paul LePage, was made Monday morning during a public […]
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Getting ready for tourism season
We will have more information from the conference later.
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Digging out, digging in and digging it — Maine’s snow businesses happy with Juno
But overall the Twin Cities and Maine in general handled Juno with relatively little pain, according to state and local officials. “We’re doing pretty good,” said Joanne Potvin, the director of Androscoggin County’s Emergency Management Agency. Potvin said overnight Tuesday there were no reported incidents, and that agency activities were largely back to normal returning […]