A Tourism Model for Northern Maine

November 2005

Presented to

Northern Maine Development Commission

Presented by

Economic Stewardship, Inc.

A Tourism Model for Northern Maine Page 1

Our Agenda for Today

Introduction and Project Overview…..………………..5 minutes

Lessons from Comparable Tourism Regions……....15 minutes

Findings from Visitor Survey…………………………10 minutes

Presentation of Draft Tourism Model……………..…15 minutes

Comments and Discussion…………………………..75 minutes

Total time………………………………..……………90 minutes

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Project Overview

• NMDC/Aroostook County Tourism is undertaking a Five-Year Tourism Business Plan

• Economic Stewardship, Inc. was hired as a contractor in August 2005

• Plan will be complete in December 2005

• This presentation offers a broad vision for tourism in Aroostook County

YOUR INPUT TODAY WILL DIRECTLY SHAPE THE FINAL PRODUCT

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Tasks Already Completed

• Tour of the region and kickoff meeting with tourism development staff

• Review of existing tourism development and marketing approaches

• Memorandum report regarding tourism approaches in five comparable regions:

1. Michigan Upper Peninsula2. Minnesota North Country/Boundary Waters

3. Southern West Virginia4. Nebraska Sandhills

5. Northern New Brunswick, Canada• Review of results from ACT visitor survey conducted in

October 2005

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Comparable Region #1: Michigan Upper Peninsula

• Traditional hunting & fishing markets giving way to eco-tourism, heritage tourism and soft adventure

• Lodging property owners self-tax to raise funds for regional tourism promotion

• Region collaborates effectively with other states and Canada

• Many tourism functions handled by contractors (trade shows, development of marketing leads, advertising)

• Is mounting regional eco-tourism initiative that required commitment from several small communitiesOhio

Iowa

Illinois

Wisconsin

Michigan

Indiana

Minnesota

Missouri

Michigan

West Virginia

Kentucky

Pennsylvania

New York

ONTARIO

QUEBEC

NUNAVUTMANITOBA

Toledo

Detroit

Chicago

Columbus

St. Paul

Milwaukee

Cleveland

Pittsburgh

Cincinnati

Minneapolis

Indianapolis

Toronto

Thunder Bay

Michigan Upper Peninsula and Surrounding Region

0 100 200 300 40050Miles

Legend

Major Cities

MNNorthCountry

MichiganUP

Federally Owned Land

Forest Service

Fish and Wildlife Service

National Park Service

Canadian National Parks

300 Mile Ring

A Tourism Model for Northern Maine Page 5

Comparable Region #2: Minnesota North Country

• Boundary Waters Canoe Area is national market, other attractions are mostly regional market

• Duluth (same distance as Bangor) is not used by visitors—they come straight to region

• Scenic drives are equally important as outdoor adventures to visitors

• Individual outfitters make extensive use of local airports

• Museums & heritage attractions provide strong counterpoint to outdoor recreation

• Chicago is more reliable market than closer but smaller cities

Iowa

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Illinois

Michigan

Indiana

Nebraska

South Dakota

Michigan

North Dakota

Missouri

Ohio

Kansas

ONTARIO

MANITOBA

NUNAVUT

Omaha

Chicago

St. Paul

Milwaukee

Minneapolis

Indianapolis

Winnipeg

Thunder Bay

Minnesota North Country and Surrounding Region

0 100 200 300 40050Miles

Legend

Major Cities

MNNorthCountry

MichiganUP

Federally Owned LandForest Service

Fish and Wildlife Service

National Park Service

Canadian National Parks

300 Mile Ring

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Comparable Region #3: Southern West Virginia

• Major resort and adventure attractions provide name recognition and bring in initial visitors, allow secondary attractions to survive

• Coal mining communities are embracing heritage tourism as the “only answer” for economic growth

• Marketing focus is shifting from outdoor adventure to heritage tourism

• Massive off-road trail system is very successful and liked by nearly all

• Tamarack is very successful at educating through-travelers about the region

Ohio

Georgia

Virginia

New York

Indiana

Michigan

Alabama

Kentucky

Pennsylvania

North CarolinaTennessee

South Carolina

West Virginia

Florida

Maryland

Vermont

New Jersey

Delaware

Connecticut

Massachusetts

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

District of Columbia

New Hampshire

ONTARIO

ToledoNewark

Buffalo

Raleigh

Detroit

Atlanta

Columbus

New York

Cleveland

Charlotte

Baltimore

Pittsburgh

Cincinnati

Louisville

Washington

Philadelphia

Indianapolis

Jacksonville

Virginia Beach

Lexington-Fayette County

Nashville-Davidson County

Toronto

Southern West Virginia and Surrounding Region

0 100 200 300 40050Miles

Legend

Major Cities

SouthernWV

Federally Owned Land

Forest Service

Fish and Wildlife Service

National Park Service

Canadian National Parks

300 Mile Ring

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A Word About Tamarack (www.tamarackwv.com)

• Highly visible “one-stop shop” for local art, food, history, culture

• Financed by toll revenue from West Virginia Turnpike

• Has become iconic image for Southern West Virginia

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Comparable Region #4: Nebraska Sandhills

• Lack of development is used as a positive—pristine landscapes are the chief attraction

• Vast majority of visitors are through travelers on scenic byways

• Entrepreneurs along byways have succeeded at building businesses geared towards through travelers

• Very high-end golfing and hunting have established niche markets

• Wildlife watching has become a major visitor attraction

• Most visitors are reached at state visitor centers—little advertising is done

Kansas

Iowa

Nebraska

Colorado

Minnesota

Oklahoma

Montana

South Dakota

North Dakota

Wyoming

Texas

Missouri

New Mexico

Arkansas

Wisconsin

MANITOBA ONTARIOSASKATCHEWAN

Tulsa

Omaha

DenverAurora

Wichita

St. Paul

Kansas City

Minneapolis

Oklahoma City

Colorado Springs

Nebraska Sandhills and Surrounding Region

0 100 200 300 40050Miles

Legend

Major Cities

Sandhills

Federally Owned LandForest Service

Fish and Wildlife Service

National Park Service

Canadian National Parks

300 Mile Ring

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Comparable Region #5: Northern New Brunswick

• Stagnant visitor volume led to focus on extending stays of current visitors

• Emphasis on authenticity is used to combat distance from major markets

• Local and regional tourism interests put pressure on provincial government to invest in tourism

• Small towns put aside differences to work together on regional brand

• Resources are concentrated in “clusters” at points of entry to region

• Strong hospitality training in cluster communities has paid off

• Looking to partner with Quebec, Nova Scotia and Maine

Maine

New York

Vermont

Massachusetts

Connecticut

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

Rhode Island

QUEBEC

NEW BRUNSWICK

NOVA SCOTIA

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

ONTARIO

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Newark

Boston

Québec

Halifax

MontréalSaint John

Northern New Brunswick and Surrounding Region

0 100 200 300 40050Miles

Legend

Major Cities

NorthernNB

Aroostook

Federally Owned Land

Forest Service

Fish and Wildlife Service

National Park Service

Canadian National Parks

300 Mile Ring

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Key Lessons for Aroostook County from Comparable Regions

• Scenic drives need to be cultivated

• Expand marketing focus based on topical interest, not geography

• Vast wilderness is a competitive advantage

• Watchable wildlife is an underdeveloped resource

• ACT needs to raise more revenue for regional tourism promotion to effectively compete

• Need to pursue partnerships with Canada

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Findings from Visitor Survey165 Total Responses

• Local ties are not the only factor in visitation– Only 6% currently live in Aroostook County– 79% are not originally from Aroostook County– Only 37% say they “always knew about Aroostook”

• Visitors tend to be relatively affluent families– 48% traveled with children under 18, only 25% had person 65 or older– 34% had household income over $75,000 (19% over $100,000)– Only 31% had household income under $50,000

• Seasonality: Summer 52%, Spring 25%, Fall 16%, Winter 7%

• Majority of trips are for recreation– 52% come primarily for recreation, 18% for business, 30% VFR

• 82% are only coming to Aroostook and have no other destinations on their trips

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Findings from Visitor Survey (cont.)• Top Activity is Scenic Drives: 60%. Others include:

– Hiking/camping 38%– Birding/wildlife watching 29%– Canoeing/kayaking 25%– Hunting/fishing 19%– Golfing 16%– Snowmobiling 11%– Bicycling 11%– ATV riding 10%

• Historical and cultural attractions are desirable– 45% visited historical or cultural site– 26% visited museum– 18% went to family reunion

• Visitors use Internet as educational, not marketing tool– Only 6% heard about Aroostook County from a website– 67% went to visitmaine.com or visitaroostook.com to plan their trips

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Findings from Visitor Survey (cont.)• 62% had very positive impression of Aroostook

– 34% had somewhat positive or neutral, just 1% had negative impression!

• 59% of those who had not visited cited “other reasons” for not coming—most of these still plan to visit– 29% said “too far”– 12% said “too expensive”– 3% cited “bad weather,” 2% said “lack of attractions”

• Overall, visitors were happy, but products need improvement– 61% said trip was “excellent” and 35% said “good”– Highest rated aspects were friendliness & helpfulness of people, outdoor

recreation, traveling to the region and ease of getting around– Lowest rated were quality of product: shopping/entertainment, lodging, dining

and historic/cultural experiences

• 96% of those who visited are likely to visit again

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Tourism Model General Concept:

TASK-ORIENTED THEMES

Theme 1: Celebrating Landscapes and

Communities

Theme 2: Organizing Partnerships for Tourism Resource Management

Theme 3: Establishing and Maintaining Identity

Theme 4: Cultivating Affinity Markets

Theme 5: Building Momentum

Themes are organized in

their order of priority for implementation. The

ultimate goal is to developa strong base early on and to

roll out new initiatives within two years.

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Theme 1: Celebrating Landscapes and Communities

• Develop scenic drives

• Promote festivals and special events

• Enhance historic and cultural resources

• Invest in downtown and village redevelopment

• Balance better road access with community character

• Regulate signage and the visual environment

• Establish a crafts/antiques circuit

• Mitigate impacts of residential development on visual, environmental and cultural resources

Unique sense of place is Aroostook’s major attraction

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Theme 2: Organizing Partnerships for Tourism Resource Management

• Educate residents about local tourism resources

• Continually gather input from regional stakeholders

• Build institutional stability within ACT– Grow network of volunteers– Formalize partnerships– Expand membership base

• Manage financial resources more effectively (Be more selective about pursuing grants, demonstrate positive results, work with businesses to work “Aroostook” or “Northern Maine” themes into their products)

• Form active partnerships with neighboring regional tourism groups

Limited funds and staffing necessitate partnerships

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Theme 3: Establishing and Maintaining Identity

• Decide on a tourism brand identity and discontinue use of competing identities

• Be real—don’t exaggerate

• Celebrate the region’s many assets, rather than bemoaning what it may not have

• Communicate to drive-through markets at high-profile visitor gateways

• Tell the stories of the region’s people (cultural/industrial histories)

The region needs a unifying identity to raise its profile

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Theme 4: Cultivating Affinity Markets

• Identify key affinity markets– Snowmobilers living in large urban areas– Birders and wildlife watchers– Adventure-seeking hunters– Heritage tourists interested in Acadian/French Canadian culture– Nordic skiing/biathlon enthusiasts

• Develop all-inclusive packages for affinity visitors

• Partner with national and international affinity group organizations

• Improve lodging and dining options

• Assist entrepreneurs with pursuing affinity visitors

Target markets that appreciate Aroostook’s charm

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Theme 5: Building Momentum

• Work with existing businesses and attractions to create and market visitor packages

• Offer online booking services

• Link www.visitaroostook.com to more tourism websites in Maine and Canada

• Identify existing interpretive resources and work to distribute and market them better

• Retain a commission-based contract employee to develop marketing leads

• Actively participate in the Two-Nation Vacation program (ME & NB)

Early successes are critical to the Five-Year Plan

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Next Steps

• Economic Stewardship and NMDC/ACT staff will meet to discuss comments from this session and two others being held this week

• Tourism model will be refined

• Tourism Business Plan will be developed. It will use Tourism Model as a base and will also include:– Organizational needs– Staffing needs– Projections of revenues and expenditures– Capital investments and potential funding sources– Strategic partnerships and cross-promotional programs– Using benchmarks to refine the plan on an ongoing basis

• Final product will be delivered by the end of 2005

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What Do You Think?

• Did we miss any key lessons from the comparable tourism regions?

• Does the overall structure of the Tourism Model work?

• Are we being realistic?

• What other early successes can be easily achieved?

• What specific products or marketing initiatives should be considered to support this model?

• Anything else you want to add!