Maine businesses welcome summer tourists amidst inflation

PORTLAND, Maine — Vibrant skies and delicate temperatures on Memorial Day 2022 had the streets in downtown Portland buzzing with a well-recognized sound. Summer season tourism season is again and in full swing — however there are questions on how inflation may make an affect down the street.

The Maine Workplace of Tourism launched a discover final week, indicating it anticipates one other “sturdy yr” for our state’s tourism and hospitality sector. In 2021, the workplace reported about 10.1 million guests from the U.S. and Canada between Could and August. In keeping with a current AAA ballot, six in 10 Individuals are planning at the very least one summer time journey, with 35 p.c anticipated to journey extra this summer time than final.  

“To date, site visitors has been good,” Dan Jurczak, bar supervisor at Portland Lobster Firm in Portland, stated about Memorial Day Weekend enterprise, later including, “My favourite a part of the job is [that] individuals from everywhere in the world come right here.”

Welcoming again guests is thrilling, however one fixed stressor nonetheless looms within the background for companies and prospects alike — inflation.

“Costs have gone up on every little thing,” Jurczak stated. “Lobster meat is de facto costly proper now, however we’re attempting our greatest to sort of hold it as little as we are able to and function many individuals as we are able to.”

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Retail store Wilbur’s of Maine is in an analogous place. Retail supervisor on the Freeport manufacturing facility location Barbara Thompson stated her crew has needed to enhance price-tags as a result of the price of the merchandise they should make their items has gone up.

“Sadly due to the value enhance, which means we do have a value enhance right here,” Thompson stated. “[But, it] isn’t so dangerous. I imply, we now have top-quality chocolate.”

Thompson stated that they had already seen guests from Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island as of Monday morning. She stated she thinks inflation would possibly simply make guests assume twice about the place they’re spending their cash.

“They might or could not purchase a stuffed lobster [toy] or a t-shirt, simply due to the price of issues – however they’re nonetheless coming,” Thompson stated.

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Tony Cameron, CEO of the Maine Tourism Affiliation, stated he believes there are challenges forward for the tourism business.  

“I don’t assume the excessive price of fuel is essentially going to stop someone from spending $50 to $100, or a bit greater than that, on a visit up right here,” Cameron stated. “It could curtail a bit little bit of their spending habits as soon as they’re right here.”

He stated his predominant concern lies farther down the street.

“I fear about what’s going to occur after this yr and the way lengthy is a sustainable with the excessive price of fuel and inflation and so forth,” Cameron stated.

Inflation: what it’s and the right way to navigate it

Curtis Picard, CEO and president of the Retail Affiliation of Maine, stated persons are nonetheless spending, however they’re extra cautious. He stated the truth that inflation is across-the-board in most sides of life is making it difficult for individuals.

“If it does proceed via the summer time and into the autumn, I believe that’s going to be an actual concern — that we’re actually going to enter a longer-term recession,” Picard stated. “I do know of us are speaking about that, so we’ll must see what occurs.”

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