HOULTON, Maine – As the pandemic slowly subsides, Americans are flocking to Maine this summer to help the crucial hospitality and tourism sector that has been hard hit by the pandemic.

But the Canadian tourists are not. Canada recently extended his non-essential travel ban on the US border for at least another month, despite family members and dual citizens can now cross without quarantine.

The extension officially extends the travel ban into the busy summer months of Maine’s tourist season. Retailers in areas normally dependent on Canadian customers may find their earnings do not normalize, preventing a full recovery of the normally dynamic summer economy in Maine this year. Cities on the Canadian border that typically serve Canadians traveling further inland or trying to take advantage of cheaper deals may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of the travel ban. Not only do you miss Canadian tourists traveling to Maine and buying goods, but also Americans who may be traveling into the hinterland to enter Canada.

Data from the Maine Office of Tourism also suggests that Canadians tend to hit over their weight when it comes to spending money on visits to Pine Tree State. According to Data As of 2019, the final year before the pandemic began, Canadians made up 14 percent of all visitors to Maine and accounted for nearly 22 percent of total tourist retail sales. Canadians spent a total of $ 1.2 billion on tourism spending in Maine.

According to Maine Tourism, many Canadians travel to Maine – particularly the Bangor area – to take advantage of the fluctuations in the exchange rate between the Canadian and US currencies, as well as the lower cost of some goods in the US compared to their own nation’s club chairman Tony Cameron.

“No question about having the Canadian market back is an absolutely important part of [return] a bit of normality – because the Canadian market is a big part of the industry as a whole, ”said Cameron.

The most current survey the 2015 Canadian visitor to the Maine Office of Tourism showed that 23 percent of Canadians mainly visited the Bangor and West Maine areas and shop in stores in downtown Bangor and the Bangor Mall. The second most popular stop was Maine Beaches, which reported that 22 percent of visitors were Canadians. Down East and Acadia made up 12 percent of Canadians’ tourist destinations, and Portland made up 10 percent. Eighty percent of Canadians stayed in paid accommodations such as hotels and inns, and a majority of them said that their main travel interest was shopping when visiting the state.

The shortage of Canadian tourists is unlikely to have much of an impact on major tourist areas like Acadia National Park. Despite the fact that the CAT ferry, which runs from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, is out of service for the second year in a row, businesses in the area are backed by an above-average influx of American tourists and could potentially one. .. see Record number of visits.

But in the Maine Highlands and cities that embrace Canada, businesses are feeling the effects of the border closure. The Washington County’s town of Lubec, for example, usually serves both Americans and Canadians on their way to and from Campobello Island – the former Franklin D. Roosevelt vacation home in New Brunswick – which typically hosts more than 100,000 visitors a year. Since the border is closed, tourist traffic to and from Campobello has been suspended.

Gale White, the owner of Lubec Brewing, said his total sales fell by about 20 percent despite the lifting of mask and social distancing restrictions due to the border closure.

“There are the people who specifically visit Roosevelt’s Cottage, but there are also people who are American citizens who own property there and usually spend their summers there,” White said. “Usually they went there and then spent a lot of money here in Lubec, went out to dinner and went to see me.”

In Houlton, which is three miles from the border, Canadians crossed the border frequently before the pandemic to buy groceries such as poultry and milk and refuel at local gas stations on their way south.

Mike Folsom, the owner of Shiretown Package Receiving in Houlton, has been feeling the effects of the border closure since it was implemented more than a year ago. Prior to the pandemic, Canadians ordered goods from US retailers and had them shipped to his store, where they would pick them up to avoid shipping to Canada.

Mike Folsom, owner of Shiretown Packaging and Receiving in Houlton, has been unable to conduct normal business since the US-Canada border closed in March 2020. Photo credit: Alexander MacDougall / Houlton Pioneer Times

With the border still closed to non-essential travel, Folsom’s main business has practically stalled for the past 15 months.

“Some truckers have ordered packages and are still coming to check them, but there are only a few,” said Folsom. “You want to come across as we want. I get calls two or three times a week saying they are missing out on coming. “

To stay afloat, Folsom bought and resold products like motorcycles and ATVs. He hopes, however, that he will be able to resume normal operations soon.

“There was either something else to do in the meantime or the deal was closed,” said Folsom. “And I’ve worked too hard to keep it going. I’ve been here for eight years and would like to continue. “

In addition to the fear of another summer without Canadian tourists, there is no clear indication in either country of when the border could be reopened. US politicians have gotten louder with Democrats and Republicans alike in favor of the reopening. In Maine, Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic MPs Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree have called for a reopening because it would harm Maine businesses and families.

Maine is not the only place affected if the travel ban persists. Places like Detroit, Michigan and Buffalo, New York, which border the Canadian province of Ontario, also rely heavily on tourists visiting places like Lake Michigan and Niagara Falls.

Democrat Brian Higgins, a member of the US House of Representatives from the borough that includes Buffalo, was one of the most vocal politicians on both sides of the border advocating a reopening. He sharply criticized the recent renewal of the travel ban, in a swear phrase to describe the extension and to indicate that National Hockey League players have been authorized to travel to Canada for playoff games, but Americans have been expelled.

“This is a very reasonable level of frustration based on the conflicting information and lack of seriousness,” Higgins said in a recent interview. “It’s not just an economic problem, it’s a quality of life problem, it’s a mental health problem.”

Canada’s domestic politics could also be a factor, with Trudeau’s Liberal Party vacuum by Doug Ford, the Conservative Prime Minister of Ontario – one of the provinces hardest hit by the pandemic – to maintain some restrictions. However, Higgins said he spoke to several Canadian politicians, including members of parliament and mayors of border communities, all of whom want fewer restrictions.

“If you are relaxing these restrictions, you are not doing it recklessly,” Higgins said. “Nobody says that you should just open up. There are conditions, and that happens at a time of public health crisis. ”

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