HIGHLIGHTS

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Don’t miss this year’s Governor's Conference on Tourism, to be held this year in Portland on April 3^rd & 4^th.

Join us as we make Portland our campus with Tuesday afternoon workshops on Successful Social Media at Allagash Brewing Company; Video Storytelling at O’Maine Studios; Digital Marketing "101" at Fork Food Lab; Cyber Security at the Holiday Inn by The Bay; How to Build an "Experience" at the Maine Historical Society, and an evening Opening Reception. (Space is limited at some venues, so be sure to register early to reserve your place.)

The full conference day on Wednesday, April 4th, will take place at the Holiday Inn by the Bay, with an update from the Office of Tourism, breakout sessions focused on how to expand your customer base, a Workforce Development general session, the annual Tourism Awards luncheon, and an inspiring keynote from Kelly McDonald, one of the nation’s top experts in multicultural marketing and consumer trends.

If you work in Maine's tourism industry – you need to be there!

Early Bird Registration is $75 through March 2nd. After March 2nd, registration will be $90 per person.

MARKETING

Maine Visitor Centers - Maine’s seven official visitor information centers operated by the Maine Tourism Association on behalf of the Maine Office of Tourism saw 562,244 travelers in 2017. Locations are:

Calais
Fryeburg
Hamden (north)
Hamden (south)
Houlton
Kittery
Yarmouth

Winter Campaign - The MOT’s Winter Campaign is now in market, with elements that include train cards, elevator screens, and digital billboards. The campaign will run through March 2018.

The winter marketing initiative targets Maine’s core tourism markets in New England and the mid-Atlantic states, which together accounted for 85% of overnight visitation during the winter season in 2016 - 2017. Maine has experienced annual increases in winter visitation (December – April) over the past 5 years, with a more than 10% increase in winter visitation in 2016-2017 over the previous year.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Bike Maine 2018 - The Bicycle Coalition of Maine has announced the Host Communities for the sixth annual BikeMaine tour will be Presque Isle, Caribou, Madawaska, Fort Kent, and St. Agatha. The 2018 ride, dubbed, “Acadia in the St. John Valley - La Terre Entre Deux,” will be held from Sept. 8-15, 2018.

Abbe Museum Indian Market - The inaugural Abbe Museum Indian Market will be take place on Friday, May 18 - Sunday, May 20, 2018, in downtown Bar Harbor, with a calendar of events that includes the market, a film festival, and a fashion show.

Visit Freeport has officially launched their new brand and website. Formerly Freeport USA, Visit Freeport serves as the information bureau and destination marketing organization for Freeport, Maine

PUBLIC RELATIONS

PR Results - Recent results from the Maine Office of Tourism PR program include a story on Midcoast arts destinations in the Lonely Planet; Sunday River inclusion in a Montreal Gazette story on ski deals in New England; a story about lobster boat tours and a round-up of Maine adventures on the TravelingTed.com blog; Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory inclusion in a feature on bridges in USA today; a Best Things to do at Moosehead Lake story on the Travel the World blog; Maine destinations included in a Huff Post story about Instagram-worthy locations in the NE; and Moosehead Lake and Bar Harbor featured in an article in Central Penn Parent magazine.

TRENDING

Global Consumer Trends for 2018 - One of the key takeaways from a recent Euromonitor retail travel survey is that people’s growing curiosity about their genetic make-up and a rising interest in personalized health and beauty are trends that destinations can capitalize on with wellness retreats and heritage trips, according to a recent article in TravelPulse.