Nov. 10 Conference to Assess State’s 2007 Tourism Outlook
Contact: Charlie Colgan, 780-4008, George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — To help determine if the outlook for tourism in the coming year will be fair or foul, a group of state and national experts are gathering in Hallowell on Nov. 10 for a day-long conference to assess and project tourism activity in 2007.
The conference, sponsored by CenTRO, the University of Maine System’s Center for Tourism Research and Outreach, is open to the public and should be of interest to anyone working in the tourism or outdoor recreation industry, according to University of Southern Maine Professor Charlie Colgan, associate director of CenTRO, chair of the Maine Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission and a former state economist, who will present the outlook for Maine tourism.
The conference will include projections about national and regional economies, the outlook for oil prices, the weather, Maine Turnpike traffic and other factors that influence tourism.
“Tourism, particularly in a lot of areas of Maine, where some of the traditional natural resources are shifting away, has always been a critical industry for us,” Colgan says. “The speakers who are coming are really knowledgeable about the different parts of tourism in Maine and at the national level.”
The conference is from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Maple Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast inn conference center off the Outlet Road in Hallowell. For directions, visit the Maple Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast website (http://www.maplebb.com/map.jpg). For reservations and cost information, see “upcoming conferences” on the CenTRO website (http://www.umaine.edu/centro/news/) or call the USM Department of Conferences at 1-800-800-4876, extension 5960.
Colgan expects the conference to attract people working in tourism or related businesses “who want to know what next year is going to look like and what’s going to determine what next year looks like,” he says.
“We expect the insights generated at the conference will help businesses plan for the next year, including planning for staffing, as well as for promoting their businesses,” adds UMaine marketing professor and CenTRO Director Harold Daniel. “This should include helping the Maine Office of Tourism refine its media plans. It’s a real opportunity to have a discussion about the future of tourism in Maine at the highest levels.”
Ed McWilliams, a UMaine graduate and now senior vice president for client services at D.K. Shifflet and Associates, a leading national travel research firm in Falls Church, Va., will deliver the keynote address, “The National Outlook for Tourism in 2007.”
An industry panel includes representatives from the hotels, banking and tourism research industries, including: William Siegel, founder and chairman of Longwoods International, which has done extensive market research for Maine tourism interests; Peter Daigle, chief operating officer of the Orono-based Lafayette Hotels, a hotel chain with 19 hotels from Bangor to Ogunquit and in New Hampshire and Michigan; Jack Williams, senior vice president of Camden National Bank; Bill Williamson of Bank of America; and Chris Keefe, vice president of Union Trust bank.
Organizers also will provide time during the conference for participants to offer their views on the outlook for tourism, which can help CenTRO improve its forecasting services for the tourism industry. CenTRO is an interdisciplinary initiative of the University of Maine System campuses, which draws upon the expertise of system-wide researchers and experts on the economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism in Maine, and the importance of recreation to the quality of life in the state. CenTRO is administered through the Maine Business School at the University of Maine, Orono, and the Center for Business and Economic Research at USM.
Kimberly Junkins at (207) 581-3102 can be reached for additional information.