PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 29, 2021
Tourists swarmed back to Maine this summer, reversing a trough in 2020 and surpassing the amount of pre-pandemic visitors and spending. Visitation data released this week by the Maine Office of Tourism shows what businesses and residents already knew – even as the coronavirus circulates widely, people still want to travel to Maine. “We may be on course for 16 to 18 million visitors this year, dramatically higher than 2020, but also higher than 2019,” said Phillip Downs, a senior partner at Downs and St. Germain Research, during a presentation to the Maine tourism industry this week.