BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 21, 2020
Tourism’s rise to become one of Maine’s top industries began long ago, but the reasons people flock here — clean water, fresh air and outdoor activities — have mirrored that history during the coronavirus pandemic. While tourism statewide was down more than 30 percent this year, it has recovered from the Great Depression and other calamities in the past. Some areas popular then bucked trends to see visitors increase in 2020. Visitors are increasingly seeking the space and adventure that abounds in rural areas, hearkening back to the reasons the earliest tourists, including author Henry David Thoreau, visited the state. Maine tourism experts said that history and ongoing marketing efforts during the pandemic may accelerate the recovery once people began traveling in earnest again.