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Cruise Ship Passengers and Leaf-Peepers Help Tourism Numbers

October 13, 2009 - KENNEBUNK -- Bartley's Dockside Restaurant is well-positioned to take advantage of the Columbus Day weekend crowd.

Buses stop regularly outside its entrance to unload leaf-peepers and cruise ship passengers out to discover the area's charms. Tourists in Kennebunkport's Dock Square need only stroll over the Kennebunk River bridge to happen upon the restaurant. And its southern Maine location puts it within range of day-trippers and other short-term visitors.

"It's a good weekend," Brian Bartley, the restaurant's owner, said Sunday. "It's always a busy one."

One economic indicator for the business is its signature blueberry pies. These days, Bartley's customers are eating their way through about 30 a day, up from about 20 pies during the wet, dreary start to summer.

Bartley expects the fall tourism season to keep the restaurant busy through the end of the month. In all, this year should be a good one but not a banner one, he said.

The Columbus Day weekend is an important one for Maine's tourism industry. It can be a boost after the back-to-school slowdown and can serve as a bellwether of the rest of the fall season. For many tourism-dependent businesses this year, it can help offset a difficult summer season.

This holiday weekend seemed like a promising one for members of the Maine Tourism Association, according to chief executive officer Vaughn Stinson. He is guardedly optimistic that the month will finish off well – if the good weather holds.

In any case, Stinson's members won't be able to make up for a poor start this year. Businesses in southern Maine will have fared better than those elsewhere, an indication that visitors were not pushing deeply into the state, he said.

"We won't make up what was lost," he said.

Members of the Maine Innkeepers Association will likely see business down 10 percent by the end of the year, said Greg Dugal, the group's executive director. But that sort of performance would be much better than what the lodging industry is seeing nationwide.

"I've been kind of hoping for minus 10 all year, though that sounds absolutely silly," he said.

Business looks "fantastic" this weekend and is especially solid in the midcoast and around the Kennebunks and Ogunquit, Dugal said. He is hoping that would-be visitors who couldn't find a room this weekend will come later in the month.

Lodging revenue figures are available only through July. Business was down 11.3 percent from January through July compared to the same period last year. There have been indications that August will also be down, Dugal said, and he's hoping that September and October will mark the start of a recovery.

Carla and Jim Hackstedt, of St. Louis, had taken a bus from Portland to Kennebunk as a side trip to their cruise. The owners of a manufacturing business, they were among the more than 2,100 passengers on the Jewel of the Seas. They had two hours to explore the area before getting back on the bus.

"Basically, we're looking for the foliage," Jim Hackstedt said, adding that they also wanted to get a sense of the local history and, if possible, check out the arts.

First Chance Whale Watch in Kennebunk will finish off this year better than last, thanks to new marketing efforts. Michael Davis, in a new marketing director's position, created a blog, organized package deals and visited and revisited inns, shops and other locations with traffic, among other things.

"We had to be a lot more aggressive," Davis said.

Across the bridge in Kennebunkport, cars jammed the streets around Dock Square and pedestrians strolled under a bright blue sky.

Jenna Golub, owner of Port Manteaux, was happy about the visitors in her clothing shop. The weather was nice enough to get them out and about but cool enough that they would want to poke about in stores, she said. "We're all in a good mood," she said.

Roz and Michael Fink – a teacher and the founder of a consumer products company – were also in a fine mood. The couple, from Livingston, N.J, normally visit each summer but didn't get a chance this year. They decided only Wednesday to come up.

"I love it," Roz Fink said. "It just has a great feel."

By ANN S. KIM, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, October 12, 2009


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