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Leaf-Peeping is Looking Up

September 17, 2008 - Maine's fall foliage season officially opened Wednesday with good news for leaf-peepers: The rains that dampened vacations this summer made for a healthy forest, setting the stage for a stunning display of color.

"I expect leaf coloration to be magnificent once again for this season," said Bill Ostrofsky, a forest pathologist, in the Department of Conservation's first foliage report of the year.

Weekly reports are being posted online – that started Wednesday – and will be available on the department's foliage Web site through at least Oct. 15. Rangers report that few leaves have changed color yet, but cool nights and sunny days should bring gradual change.

The reports include information about different regions of the state.

Foliage season is a critical time for the lodging industry, said Greg Dugal, executive director of the Maine Innkeepers Association.

"It is very important for us, I can't minimize that," he said.

Bookings the first two weeks of September can be sketchy, and this year seemed lighter than usual, he said. The second half of September and first week of October are too far away to predict, given that booking windows are getting shorter, he said.

Leaf-peepers tend to be older visitors with disposable income who stay for more than a night, Dugal said. They also tend to be flexible with their time and don't need to do their leisure travel on weekends, which benefits lodging businesses trying to fill rooms midweek, he said.

Keith Neubert, the innkeeper and chef at the Inn at Long Lake in Naples, is hoping for a strong autumn after a summer that was slightly off. While the fall is considered a shoulder period, because it is between the more clearly defined summer and winter tourism seasons, it is the busiest time except for summer at the inn, he said.

"I think we'll see a little bit of consumer hesitation during this transitional time in our economy, but I'm not giving up any hope the true nature – literally – of New England's autumn will lure guests from everywhere."

Some visitors clearly try to time their trips to coincide with an area's peak fall color.

"People will call the chamber, and say 'I'm calling from X state. Can you tell me which week leaf-peeping is?'" said Michael McClellan, executive director of the Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce.

But as Gale Ross of the Department of Conservation notes, it's not possible to make such predictions. In more than 20 years working on foliage reports, she has not come up with a way to answer that often-asked question.

"We can never make predictions, we can only report," she said.

Fall is always strong for Tourco, a tour operator based in Nobleboro, and this year looks stronger, thanks to an increase in foreign visitors, according to Jerry DiPietro, its president.

These tour customers aren't swayed by the latest weather forecasts. DiPietro said they make their plans sometimes more than a year ahead of time.

"They're booked way in advance. The reason is foliage in New England. It's world-class, it has worldwide demand," he said.

Local day-trippers make up the bulk of fall foliage business for most Maine-based bus companies, said Jason Briggs, sales manager of VIP Tour and Charter Bus Co. These trips, often arranged by municipal recreation departments, churches and senior citizen groups, are also planned far in advance, he said.

Frank Morong, interim executive director of the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber of Commerce, said foliage reports may not make a big difference in the fall season.

"They come anyway. A lot of them will research and find out when the peak foliage is at the various locations. Others say, 'It's fall in Maine, you go to Maine.'"

By ANN S. KIM Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, September 11, 2008


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