Quoddy area feels gas hike hit as businesses see tourism drop

The summer of 2005 was not a great season for many businesses in eastern Washington County and the Fundy Isles. Fewer people chose to travel to the area, despite the good weather in July and August. The high price of gas definitely affected the number of visitors. Although many businesses that rely on tourism have had a poor showing, a few have held steady with last year, and a handful have actually done better.

Eastport storeowners notice fewer visitors
"Sales are up, but tourist traffic is definitely down," reports Chris Brown of his family hardware and gift shop business, S.L. Wadsworth & Son. "August never hit like we were expecting, and the last two weeks have been really dead."

"The price of gas has made a difference," he points out. "Tourists are telling us they made a conscious decision to scale back their travel."

Brown says visitors to Eastport want to learn about the history of the area, as well as its special features such as high tides and the whirlpool. "We don't make that easy. They have to dig around."

This is the fourth season that Butch and Janna Harris' schooner, the Sylvina W. Beal, has provided whale-watch and charter cruises out of Eastport. "How the overall season will be I don't know yet," says Janna. "The weather was the best we've had in July and August, but I think the price of gas really hurt us. September is down. We've had a few cancellations because people weren't going to drive up from wherever they were at." She adds, "We're going to try to run into October. We usually get some charters."

John Miller of Captain's Cargo in downtown Eastport is not complaining about the summer season. "Money-wise, I think we did as good as last year. There were fewer people, but the trick is staying open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. That is key."

"We have to work together as a team on Water Street," he adds. "Ten businesses got together, and we had ads that reached from Fredericton to Ellsworth, advertising Eastport as a destination. A lot of people who came through the door said that brought them into town."

"People love Eastport," points out Miller. "They're absolutely impressed with this little community."

Although the beginning of the summer season was slow, the Motel East in Eastport had an average July and an excellent August. Thanks to Elderhostel groups and Domtar officials, September will also be a good month. Some of the lodgers came to the motel because they had read a Washington Post article about Eastport and the writer had stayed at the Motel East. The motel reports that people were making more reservations and staying longer, instead of just dropping in and spending one or two nights in town.

One of Eastport's longtime B&Bs, John and Jett Peterson's Weston House, had a summer season that John describes as normal. "August is our better month, and we've been very busy [in mid-September], but we don't have anybody booked for awhile after that." In describing the Weston House's clientele, Peterson points out, "Mostly they are on their way somewhere, although that doesn't apply to the Fourth of July. Their reaction when they come is they think Eastport is the greatest place ever. We do have a lot of repeat business."

Report from Calais
“I don't have any statistics, but I've observed that the visitor count is down somewhat," reports Jim Thompson, executive director of the Downeast Heritage Museum in Calais. "I think that's consistent with what's going on around here." Most of the museum's clientele are tourists who are either passing through Calais on their way to Canada or Canadians headed to destinations in the northeastern U.S. "Washington and Charlotte counties gave us a wonderful response to our educational programs this summer," observes Thompson. "The other day we had 120 people here for Allen Sockabasin when he read from his book."

"We just had 45 to 50 youngsters from Machias visit us. We get a lot of schoolchildren from both sides of the border," points out Thompson. "And this time of year, we get the older travellers. The empty-nesters." Thompson adds, "We have a website, and that's been very helpful. We've been getting a lot of inquiries from it. Marketing to the people who live a long distance from here is crucial to our livelihood."

Sharing space with the Downeast Heritage Museum this year is the Maine Tourism Bureau. Employee Billie Parks says that tourist traffic in August was down 40% from last year and, so far, September was down 28%. "We've had no more than 85 or 90 people coming in a day." She reports that some confusion has resulted from the move. "I've gotten phone calls from people wondering if they have to pay [for] information because we're in the museum now. Also, people who have stopped to see us before tend to go to the old building. People visiting for the first time find us right away."

Eastport and Lubec are popular destinations for the tourists, Parks points out. "A lot of people are happy that they're doing van tours in the Cobscook area."

Whiting area sees summer visitor drop
“It was kind of slow," reports Pat McCabe. She and her husband Mike have owned the Puffin Pines Country Store in Whiting for the past five years. "Oddly enough, we did very well in May and June. I don't know why. July was slow. August was better but not as good as August should be."

She says the people who shop in her store include visitors who return to the area every year as well as "tourists venturing up just to see what's here."

When tourists ask what there is to do, McCabe always has plenty of suggestions, including Reversing Falls in Pembroke, Lubec with its lighthouse and Campobello with its lighthouse. "Depending on whether they're just here for the day, I'll tell them to visit Eastport and Calais. I even mention Burnham Tavern in Machias. I try to promote the area." McCabe's husband Mike is currently president of the Cobscook Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, and he believes that it was an off-summer for many of its members. "I did read that it was also a slow summer in the midcoast, and I heard through the grapevine that [the number of visitors to] Bar Harbor was way off this summer. What's that saying? If Bar Harbor sneezes, Eastport gets pneumonia."

"Even the blackflies were off this year," reports McCabe, a promoter of the tongue-in-cheek Maine Blackfly Breeders Association. "They came late. They weren't as thick and heavy during the season, and they didn't stay late."

A mixed bag for Campobello
On Campobello Island, the Roosevelt Campobello International Park saw a decrease of 4% in number of visitors compared to last year for the May through August period. The park's facilities, visitor center, restrooms and grounds, remain open through October 31, though the Roosevelt cottage closes in mid-October. Spending by visitors was down a comparable 23%. Tour bus visitors counts were down by 7%. Possible causes for the drop in visitors include poor early season weather, increased costs for gasoline, or a misperception that border crossing rules had been tightened. Park staff reported numerous calls asking if passports were required to cross the U.S./Canada border, and speculated that others may have vacationed elsewhere without checking to find out that there were no changes in border requirements. On the other hand, visitors to the Roosevelt park's natural areas at Liberty Point Drive and Friar's Head were up about 9% this year over 2004 figures. It may be that visitors are staying longer, seeing more of the island, or that seasonal residents are utilizing the natural areas more.

At the Lupine Lodge on Campobello, owner Diane MacFeat says that "we are down 5 to 10% in total revenue" for both the lodging and dining business. She believes that, despite higher gas prices, "People still want to go on vacation, need to get away ... people are still coming." In the future, she expects to see more visitors coming from the Boston and New Hampshire areas, people who want a vacation, but don't want to travel as far.

At Family Fisheries in Wilson's Beach, a fish market and take-out restaurant, owner Carol Rice says, "Last year we were down 5% from the year before. This year we were up to where it was two years ago. Many summer people visit our restaurant, so it is hard to classify them as tourists. We had a good year compared to other shops on the island.

Lubec sees gains and losses
Across the border in Lubec, most businesses felt losses from the previous year. At the South Bay Campground on Route 189, owner Jack Willson says, "This year slaughtered me. We were way off from last year, and last year was bad." He said that 2002 was his busiest year ever, but since then "business has declined for the camp. And after the millennium celebration and 9-11, it seemed RV traffic and their interest in our area lessened." He says that it could not be blamed on the weather, because "this year the weather has been gorgeous. But with gas so expensive, after spending $300,000 on an RV, people can't afford another $30 to spend the night."

At West Quoddy Gifts, near the West Quoddy Lighthouse, owner Junia Lehman says this was "a better season than last, but not as good as past years." She says even though tourists were more numerous, their spending was down. She notes that a lot more people are renting and staying longer in the area. "There are more rentals available than ever. I keep a list of available rentals in our area on the bulletin board and it gets a lot of interest."

Denise Plouffe, realtor and co-owner of Due East Realty in Lubec and Eastport, concurs. "We've been very busy this season, and a lot of people are interested in rentals, both seasonal and long-term." There have also been buyers throughout the season. "We see a lot of buyers from away, and field many inquiries about property from people visiting from southern New England, New York and further afield." Sales have been brisk to those from out of the area looking for year-round homes, summer homes or places to vacation for now and possibly retire down the road. "We've been busy all summer," says Plouffe, "showing houses, especially waterfront or waterview properties, and building parcels.

At the West Quoddy Light Visitors Center, Debra Bridges says visitors are "up by several hundred, through June, July and August." Their season has not ended yet, but she expects to be above last year for the whole season.

One nonprofit business that has been hit directly by the rapid increase in gasoline prices is the Tours of Lubec and Cobscook group that began operations this year. They provide history and shoreline tours of the area, taking visitors around the historic houses, churches and sites of Lubec and Campobello Island, as well as to the arctic bogs and shoreline areas. "We bought a van to transport visitors on our tours and for advertising, but had to limit its use due to high gas prices," says Ruta Jordans. "Since this was our first year, we can't compare, but other tourist-oriented businesses in the area have told us the number of tourists was down this year."