Tourism companies see robust July four weekend, however workforce scarcity a significant downside

The Maine Tourism Association (MTA) recently surveyed its members about July 4th weekend business, visitor trends, and the impact of labor shortages on the business.

According to Tony Cameron, chief executive officer, survey members said nearly 40% said business was better than a normal year like 2019, while 47% said companies were 75-100% of normal. Only 5% said business was worse than usual on the holiday weekend.

“It is a great relief to see our tourism businesses recover from the huge losses we suffered in 2020,” said Cameron. “At first everything indicated that this year would be a good year for our recovery and it is wonderful to see how that develops. There are challenges, however – the closure of the Canadian border is having a major impact on certain regions of the state and the labor shortage has a huge impact on all aspects of tourism.

The closure of the Canadian border has had a significant or moderate impact on 33% of businesses, according to respondents.

Personnel bottlenecks are still a big issue. About 46% said they had half or fewer of the employees they needed this summer. As a result, 37% of the responding companies reduce their opening hours or the day of the week and 54% reduce their business capacities, e.g. The impact of these changes means that 70% of respondents experience a loss of revenue of up to 25%; 28% expect a revenue loss of 25-50%.

“The business surge this summer is great, but we are clearly leaving millions in tourism dollars on the table due to staff shortages. The accommodations are full, but many cannot open all of their rooms without more cleaning staff. Some restaurants also leave areas unused due to a lack of kitchen or service staff, ”said Cameron.

New tourism trends included many companies seeing more Maine travelers than usual, while others said visitor numbers had increased from across the country. It was also found that people stayed longer, focused more on outdoor activities, and were less experienced travelers.

Cameron stated that the State Visitor Information Center staff are seeing the same trends – a sharp increase in outdoor recreation and new travelers, as well as many people moving to Maine. “This shows that tourism is boosting our entire economy. Promoting Maine is not just about branding ourselves as a vacation destination, it’s about reminding people of the unique quality of Maine life, ”he said.

The Maine Tourism Association is the state’s largest advocate for all tourism-related businesses. Founded in 1922, MTA members include lodging, restaurants, camps, camping, retail, outdoor recreation, guides, tour operators, amusements, and cultural and historical attractions. MTA also operates seven state visitor information centers from Kittery to Calais and annually prepares the state’s official travel planner, Maine invites you.