NMDC’s five-year tourism plan
hopes to attract visitors
By Jon Gulliver
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — The Northern Maine Development Commission board of directors has given approval to a five-year tourism plan with hopes of enticing more people to the region.
Meeting on Thursday at the NMDC board room directors heard about the plan, nearly a year in development, by NMDC Tourism Specialist Leslie Jackson.
Jackson said there are five key components to the Northern Maine Tourism Action Plan. Funding tops the list.
“We always understand there is never enough money to do all the things we want to do,” said Jackson, “so we are going to be actively seeking out funding sources.”
The second goal is to enhance the tourism sector with training and education.
“To launch that off in the spring we will be holding a tourism summit,” she said.
Jackson said that meeting will be used to officially launch the tourism plan. Also stakeholders in the tourism industry will be asked to attend and various workshops on how to attract and accommodate tourists will be held.
The third component of the plan is to build and maintain quality partnerships and networks. Jackson said that need was discussed at the listening sessions leading up to the writing of the plan. Also as part of building partnerships, Jackson said the Aroostook County Tourism committee has reached out to the organizers of the World Acadian Congress scheduled for the summer of 2014, to be held in northern Maine, western New Brunswick and parts of Quebec.
Goal number four is to clarify the message and sharpen communication, part of which will be to revisit the identity of Aroostook County and to work on branding the region. Currently there are different slogans to promote the region, like the “Crown of Maine”. Jackson said she would like those in the tourism industry to decide on a single slogan and use it for marketing purposes. Not everyone is sold on the 20-year-old “Crown of Maine’\” slogan. Caribou city manager Steven Buck, who sits on the NMDC board of directors, said “Crown of Maine” focuses too much on location and doesn’t speak to why people should visit Aroostook County. Jackson said the committee made up of ACT members and others will consider all branding tag lines.
The fifth component calls for strengthening the brand and expanding the market.
“We want to reach more to the Downeast, Acadia, New Brunswick and Quebec regions,” Jackson told the board.
She said the group would like to put together two-nation vacations and work cooperatively with New Brunswick Tourism to attract visitors.
The full action plan will be available in the near future on the Northern Maine Development Commission website, www.nmdc.org.
In a related matter, Steven Dobson, the owner of the Hospitality Inn located in Washburn and Van Buren, was appointed to the Aroostook County Tourism committee. NMDC Executive Director Bob Clark said Dobson was an excellent choice for the ACT organization. Clark said Dobson has already been successful setting up partnerships with motorcycle and snowmobile groups and an organization from France.
