CARIBOU, Maine – Aroostook County saw the highest spike in visitors in Maine on a percentage basis last year as more people returned north to visit family and friends after the pandemic.
Aroostook saw a 17.5-percent jump in tourism between Dec. 2022 and Nov. 2023, with 332,400 total people having visited during that time, according to the Maine Office of Tourism’s regional 2024 data released Tuesday.
That’s the highest percentage increase among the eight regions for which the Maine Office of Tourism splits its tourism data, including the Maine Highlands, which saw a 16.8-percent increase, and Maine’s beaches, which saw a 20.7-percent drop in visitors.
Jacob Pelkey, tourism developer for Aroostook County Tourism, attributed much of the increase to larger numbers of people visiting family and friends in Aroostook than in other regions of Maine, especially as pandemic travel restrictions went away.
Thirty-one percent of people that the Maine Office of Tourism surveyed last year said they planned their trips to Aroostook based on advice from family and friends, and 33 percent said visiting family and friends was their top reason for traveling.
Those statistics were nearly similar for the Maine Highlands, but zero percent of travelers to Maine beaches planned trips based on family or friends’ advice.
“We have a lot of people who used to live in Aroostook who still have family or friends here, and many base their trips around summer festivals,” Pelkey said. “We had a rainy summer last year, but people still visited family even if outdoor events were canceled.”
Aroostook saw a total tourist-based economic impact of $255,058,200 in 2023, up 3.5 percent from $246,453,400 in 2022. Economic impact includes total visitors, days visitors spend in a region, overnight stays at lodging establishments and money people pay directly to businesses like restaurants, shops, entertainment venues and gas stations.
Maine’s beaches brought in $3.9 billion from tourism in 2023, compared to $4 billion in 2022, and saw a decrease in visitors – 3,796,100 in 2023 compared to 4,784,200 the year prior.
The Maine Highlands, which includes Bangor, rural attractions like Mount Katahdin and the Penobscot River and regions of Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, received just over $1 billion in economic impact in both 2023 and 2022, and over 1 million visitors in 2023 compared to 876,000 the year before.
Other regions within the Maine Office of Tourism’s research are DownEast Acadia, Kennebec Valley, Maine’s Lakes and Mountains, Maine’s Midcoast and Islands and Greater Portland and Casco Bay.
Though Aroostook’s overall economic impact from tourism was lower than other Maine regions, county businesses still benefited greatly from the boost in visitors.
Sheena Hinxman has managed Russell’s Motel in Caribou since 2021 and has seen more guests coming because of Aroostook’s outdoor activities like snowmobile and ATV riding, hunting and fishing, but also for annual gatherings like class reunions, New Sweden’s Midsommar and the Mi’kmaq Nation’s Mawiomi.
Russell’s saw more guests cancel after Aroostook’s snowmobile trails closed early this winter but is gearing up for the eclipse on April 8. All 14 of the motel’s rooms are booked for that day.
Hinxman plans to promote Aroostook’s amenities during the eclipse, hoping that more people will return.
“We let our guests know what other businesses and places are in Aroostook so that they can enjoy The County the way we all do,” Hinxman said.
Maine Office of Tourism also publishes seasonal data for all eight regions, but data is not yet available for the 2023-2024 winter season in Aroostook, Pelkey said.
Despite a dismal winter, Pelkey said that he is still optimistic about the 2024 summer season because of Aroostook County Tourism’s new digital maps and itinerary tools for visitors, including those cycling the new U.S. Bike Route 501. Aroostook County Tourism will launch a redesigned website with more digital features later in March.
