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Log in$4 a gallon? So what?
$4 a gallon? So what?
by Outspoken on Sat May 24, 2008 6:15 am
$4 a gallon? So what? State officials optimistic about '08 tourism season
By Bill Trotter
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
The economy may not exactly be robust, and fuel prices in the region may be about 25 percent higher than they were a year ago, but that isn’t dampening enthusiasm among Maine tourism officials for the 2008 summer season.
This weekend, when many Americans hit the road for Memorial Day, is generally considered the start of the annual summer vacation season. In Maine, seasonal business owners have been opening their shops and restaurants and otherwise getting ready for the first wave of out-of-state visitors, even as gasoline prices approach — and in some areas surpass — the $4-per-gallon mark.
"We’re cautiously optimistic," Patricia Eltman of the Maine Office of Tourism said this week. "Anecdotal information we have right now are that advance bookings are even [with 2007] or slightly up."
Greg Dugal, executive director of the Maine Innkeepers’ Association, said this week that Maine is lucky to be close to dense population centers that are only hours away by car rather than being several days away. Fuel costs are more likely to have an effect on more remote tourist destinations such as those out West than on Maine’s tourist industry, which is relatively close to the 70 million people who live on the East Coast between Montreal and Washington, he said.
Gas prices and the sluggish economy may deter some people from taking impulse vacation weekends, according to Dugal, but those concerns may be viewed by some as all the more reason to go. People need a break from the worries of their daily routine, even when the economy is sluggish, he said.
Dugal echoed Eltman’s assessment about the number of bookings that lodging businesses seem to be getting so far this year, as did officials with Maine Tourism Association and Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce.
"Advance reservations have been equal to or better than last year, and last year was good for us," Dugal said. "Everyone is optimistic."
But officials with the Maine Turnpike Authority have said that the recent spike of $4-per-gallon gas prices could have an effect on the number of tourists who drive to Maine this weekend.
Earlier this week, the authority released a prepared statement that indicated fuel prices in New England are 22 percent higher than they were this time last year. Charles Colgan of the Center for Tourism Research and Outreach at University of Southern Maine predicts that northbound traffic volumes on Friday and today will be 3.5 percent lower than they were for the same two days in 2007, according to the statement.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=164782&zoneid=500
By Bill Trotter
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
The economy may not exactly be robust, and fuel prices in the region may be about 25 percent higher than they were a year ago, but that isn’t dampening enthusiasm among Maine tourism officials for the 2008 summer season.
This weekend, when many Americans hit the road for Memorial Day, is generally considered the start of the annual summer vacation season. In Maine, seasonal business owners have been opening their shops and restaurants and otherwise getting ready for the first wave of out-of-state visitors, even as gasoline prices approach — and in some areas surpass — the $4-per-gallon mark.
"We’re cautiously optimistic," Patricia Eltman of the Maine Office of Tourism said this week. "Anecdotal information we have right now are that advance bookings are even [with 2007] or slightly up."
Greg Dugal, executive director of the Maine Innkeepers’ Association, said this week that Maine is lucky to be close to dense population centers that are only hours away by car rather than being several days away. Fuel costs are more likely to have an effect on more remote tourist destinations such as those out West than on Maine’s tourist industry, which is relatively close to the 70 million people who live on the East Coast between Montreal and Washington, he said.
Gas prices and the sluggish economy may deter some people from taking impulse vacation weekends, according to Dugal, but those concerns may be viewed by some as all the more reason to go. People need a break from the worries of their daily routine, even when the economy is sluggish, he said.
Dugal echoed Eltman’s assessment about the number of bookings that lodging businesses seem to be getting so far this year, as did officials with Maine Tourism Association and Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce.
"Advance reservations have been equal to or better than last year, and last year was good for us," Dugal said. "Everyone is optimistic."
But officials with the Maine Turnpike Authority have said that the recent spike of $4-per-gallon gas prices could have an effect on the number of tourists who drive to Maine this weekend.
Earlier this week, the authority released a prepared statement that indicated fuel prices in New England are 22 percent higher than they were this time last year. Charles Colgan of the Center for Tourism Research and Outreach at University of Southern Maine predicts that northbound traffic volumes on Friday and today will be 3.5 percent lower than they were for the same two days in 2007, according to the statement.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=164782&zoneid=500
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
