As the warm weather persists, New Hampshire prepares for its second summer in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. But state tourism officials are optimistic that this summer will be better – and safer – than last year.

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NHPR’s Annie Ropeik spoke to people in the lake region who are also optimistic. She joined the host of All Things Considered, Emily Quirk.

Listen as NHPR’s Annie Ropeik talks to All Things Considered host Emily Quirk about expectations for New Hampshire’s summer tourism season.

Emily Quirk: So on Friday you were out with Governor Sununu and state tourism representatives in Franklin, in a new park on the riverside that is under construction there, and have started the summer season. What’s their message?

Annie Ropeik: Well, they are hoping for a great season. You want to match or exceed the 2019 levels of tourist visits and revenue. And I was told it was a very good year, top two or three for the state. We were here on the upswing for our tourism industry, among our largest industries. And the pandemic interrupted that.

I think the state is very proud of how it got through and managed to keep some things open during the COVID with the health guidelines in place. But they really hope 2021 will be the big reopening. As we’ve heard, all state health policies are now voluntary. They become “best practices” rather than binding rules. And so they leave it up to the companies to decide how to handle the season, but really hope to see lots of visits from the surrounding states. They focus on road trips and marketing, especially not just in our typical surrounding states of New England and New York that we normally attract, but also in the Mid Atlantic, Ohio, up to a radius of 600 miles. Marketing the New Hampshire Road Trip as their big deal for this summer. So they are very optimistic and really talk about it like they are ready to leave COVID behind.

Quirk: Well, how does that fit with the reality of the pandemic now?

Ropeik: Well, it’s a really difficult balance. And you hear state officials try to strike that. You know it’s a double message: “Come and visit New Hampshire!” but also “be safe at the same time”. And they hope these voluntary guidelines will help ensure this is the case. You can hear Governor Sununu trying to do so here.

Sununu: “Because our vaccine distribution has become so fast, we have a little more opportunity than other states to open things up, relying on that personal responsibility and individual choice when it comes to what they’re going to do with masks and social distancing.” . We always want to promote this as best we can, both indoors and with people you don’t know. Given that the vast majority of Granite Staters will be fully vaccinated in just a few weeks, we’re really there and really open to business.

Ropeik: And so he feels that the state is making the right call and doing it faster than certain other states, and that this will work for tourism dependent areas this summer when they really need the revenue urgently. The nationwide mask mandate is no longer in force. You don’t have to wear a mask, but it’s still a good idea, he says. And I think the people I spoke to expected this from some of the visitors: that people play it safe even when they are traveling.

But they also hope and rely very much on a lot of vaccinations, as you heard from the governor. But of course you don’t necessarily know who was vaccinated. And that is the really difficult balance that the state is trying to achieve.

Quirk: You also spent some time today talking to people in the lake region, business owners and locals about their expectations for the coming summer. What do you hear

Ropeik: There is definitely a cautious buzz and, much like state officials, this genuine willingness to put COVID in the rearview mirror. They’re not one hundred percent sure we’re still all there, but they really hope we’ll be there soon.

I visited Alton Bay, a slightly more conservative part of the state, a place where the idea of ​​personal choice for companies to set their own rules was really taken up once we start to get out of the pandemic. They also rely heavily on this outdoor recreation and those spaces that are safer for social distancing and don’t wear masks to somehow get them through.

I spoke to David Shibley at this family’s ice cream stand in Alton Bay and he’s one of the companies that has some safety measures in place for its employees but is definitely feeling optimistic about a strong summer overall.

Shibley: Hopefully COVID stays down and hopefully everyone will be vaccinated asap. I am fully vaccinated. Most of the staff here are fully vaccinated. Hopefully it all comes together and everyone is happy, safe, and healthy.

Ropeik: And for this idea, hoping for the best is really the key that I have heard from most of the people in Alton. Last summer was actually a lot better than I think they expected. But they want to build on it and hope for an even better year in 2021. And they are very willing to leave the past year behind them as well as possible.

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