Maine Governor's Conference Early Bird Pricing Ends Friday

Conference will be held 16-17 April 2025 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

Go here for attendee registration and exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities.

Individual tickets are $95 through Friday, $125 after that.

Keynote speaker Joe Diaz of Afar Magazine will talk on "The Future of Tourism: Leaning into High-Value Visitation".

Agenda:

Wednesday 16 April

• Maine Scenic Byways Summit
• Explore Bangor Welcome Excursions
• Educational Workshops 1
  • Frances Perkins Center Heritage Tourism PLan
  • Working with Influencers and Travel Media
• Educational Workshops 2
  • Marketing to Outdoor Enthusiasts
  • ChatGPT for Curious Beginners
  • Data Informed Marketing
• Refreshments
• Keynote by Joe Diaz
• Maine Tourism Awards
• Welcome reception

Thursday 17 April

• Breakfast and expo
• Panel: Cultural Heritage Tourism Trends and Opportunities
• Coffee break and expo
• Breakout sessions 1
  • Wabanaki Cultural Tourism Strategic Plan
  • How AMC Leverages Land Conservation
  • Employee Training and Retention
  • Generating Your Own Media
  • ChatGBT for Marketing
• Breakout Sessions 2
  • Cultivating Real Maine Tourism
  • Downtowns: Opportunities for Collaboration
  • Developing Collaborative Outdoor Experiences
  • Tracking the ROI of Your Advertising
  • Attracting International Travelers
• Lunch + Panel: Transforming MAine Through Sports Tourism
• MOT Report
• Q&A with MOT
• Closing

Portland ME 2025 Destination Summit registration now open

The Visit Portland Annual Meeting - now rebranded as Destination Summit - will be held 0830-1430 on Wednesday, 30 April 2025, in Hannaford Hall at the Abromson Community Education Center at USM in Portland.

From Visit Portland:

"Join 250+ industry professionals for a day packed with insights, connections, and inspiration. This is more than just a conference—it’s a chance to network with leaders, uncover the latest trends, and gain valuable strategies to elevate your impact in our tourism industry. From a marketing deep dive and regional statistics to expert speakers and interactive networking, this event is designed to inform, engage, and spark fresh ideas."

Summit will feature:

• Marketing update
• Regional visitation statistics
• Awards
• Exhibits
• Networking
• Marketing workshop

Registration priced at $75 for members, $90 for others, is here.

Belfast finds larger ships produce congestion and not much business

The City Council of Belfast, ME (population about 7,000) voted this week to have drafted an amendment to existing ordinances that would ban shore excursions from cruise ships carrying 50 or more passengers.

The issues that set this initiative into motion - harbor docking space tied up, congestion in Belfast's narrow streets - came about when the American Cruise Lines 243' catamaran American Eagle (pictured, above) which carries 50 crew and up to 100 passengers - began visiting the city in the summer of 2024.

Because American Cruise Lines sends charter buses to take disembarked passengers on day tours out of Belfast - thus limiting passenger spend in the city - the proposed ordinance amendment has the support of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce.

As of right now, 14 cruise ships are expected to visit Belfast in the summer of 2025.

A ban on large cruise ships (>1,000 passengers) passed by the Town of Bar Harbor in 2022 resulted in a lawsuit against the town. But in March 2024 a federal judge found the Bar Harbor ordinance to be a "lawful exercise of home rule authority" under the Maine and US Constitutions.

Stay tuned for updates on Belfast.

Revenues would be used to fund the Maine Department of Education.

A bill introduced into the Maine House - LD 225 (HP 148) - by Rep. Michael Brennan (D-Portland) with numerous cosponsors would create an additional 3% lodging tax - on top of the current 9% - with the proceeds going to the Maine Department of Education to fund school construction and K-12 education.

The new tax would become effective 1 January 2026.

Per the title of this Bill, one purpose is to "reduce property taxes," but it's not clear how that would necessarily come about.

At 12%, Maine's state lodging tax rate would be second-highest in the US.

And at least in part for reasons related to the US economy, visitation to Maine was down by 9% year-on-year in the summer of 2024.

Because a higher lodging tax rate puts Maine lodging places at a competitive disadvantage to other destinations, the Maine Tourism Association opposes this legislation.

3:30 PM Wednesday 15 January at the Best Western Caribou Inn

This meeting will be the first of a series.

Meetings are open to all businesses, towns and organizations with an interest in tourism, and will feature dialogue among participants about resources for County tourism including marketing, promotion, publicity and vacation packages.

Bring your brochures and plenty of business cards.

Upcoming meetings being planned include:

• 24 February in Houlton
• 1 May in Central Aroostook
• 4 June in Madawaska

Go here for more information.

Aroostook County Tourism is a committee of the Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC), a Community Development Financial Institution based in Caribou, ME.