Winter gives tourism a lift

Ski areas, snowmobile dealers and the lodging industry have a good year.

By ANN S. KIM, Maine Sunday Telegram April 5, 2009

The recession had Terry MacGillivray, who rents snowmobiles, concerned about business this winter. The snowmobiling season got off to a slow start but ended strong for his business – probably about as well as last winter's record year.

"I was nervous at first because of talk of the economy and yada, yada, yada," said MacGillivray, the owner of Fryeburg Snowmobile Rentals.

The combination of abundant snow and bargain-hunters determined to enjoy themselves despite the economy seemed to be a winning one for MacGillivray and many others who work in winter tourism. The snowmobiling and skiing industries enjoyed strong turnout, and businesses that catered to those winter sports enthusiasts and other wintertime travelers also may have fared well.

"Everybody had a good season this year," said Greg Sweetser, executive director of the Ski Maine Association.

Community-oriented ski areas benefited from skiers who opted to stay close to home this winter, Sweetser said. Skiers who might otherwise have gone West, meanwhile, gave a boost to the larger ski areas, he said.

Saddleback Mountain in Rangeley saw a 24 percent increase in ticket sales and a 23 percent increase in season pass sales, said JoAnne Taylor, the resort's marketing director. Prices have not changed, she said, but skiers this winter were more interested in deals.

"This year, the message really resonated with people because people were looking for good value," she said.


Sunday River also had a strong season and was on pace to meet its recording-setting performance last year, said Darcy Liberty, a spokeswoman.

There's anecdotal evidence that suggests that the situation for Maine's lodging industry is improving, too...

Lodging businesses around ski areas fared well. Said Greg Dugal, executive director of the Maine Innkeepers Association, "I've had some people tell me they've had their best winter." Dugal said there's a chance that the lodging industry may meet the performance of last year, when revenues were up five-eighths of a percent.

The Chapman Inn in Bethel did about the same or maybe even a little better this season than last, said Sandra Frye, the innkeeper."We had a good winter, surprisingly so," she said. "I think people are traveling more local rather than flying off."

Business at Town and Lake Motel and Cottages in Rangeley was a bit slow in January but booming in February and March, said Joey Morton, the owner. "Business was good. That was all that really mattered," he said.

Patterns in snowmobile registrations indicate that people were being more careful with their money. Sales of nonresident season passes were down, but nonresident 10-day and three-day passes were up significantly, said Bob Meyers, executive director of the Maine Snowmobile Association.

"Clearly, one way or another, they were still going to go. It's just how they went and where they went kind of moderated this year," he said.

MacGillivray, the Fryeburg rental shop owner, said more people were asking about discounts this season...
While the season was shorter this year, the business increased the number of sleds in its fleet and added incentives to encourage midweek rentals. Those factors helped business reach the levels it did.

"We had a really good year," MacGillivray said.

FMI

Jim's comment: Winters tourists are watching their spending and winter businesses adjusted. Expect similar patterns for the SUMMER.