Safety message is key to opening Maine tourism economy, subcommittee says

Photo / Maureen Milliken The Hospitality, Tourism and Retail subcommittee of the state's Economic Recovery Committee is suggesting ways the state can better open up for out-of-state tourism.

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By Maureen Milliken

Getting out the safety message is key to getting others on board to ease restrictions on the state's tourism industry, members of the Hospitality, Tourism and Retail subcommittee of the state's Economic Recovery Committee said this morning.

The subcomittee is suggesting the state find an alternative to the blanket 14-day in-Maine quarantine for out-of-state visitors as part of its recommendations to the larger committee, which must present an initial report to the state July 15.

Bringing tourists in is akin to opening the schools, said committee member Jean Ginn Marvin, owner of the Nonantum Resort. "We need to bring tourists to Maine, but we need to do it safely," she said. The message of how to make it safe for tourists and workers is a better focus of the state's energy and attention than "we cannot do it," she said.

The hospitality industry, particularly the lodging sector, has kept steady pressure on Gov. Janet Mills, including open letters, news conferences demanding a change and proposing a $800 million plan to help the industry recover. The summer tourist season sustains most of Maine's hotels, motels, inns and other lodging establishments, and much of it is being lost to the shutdowns.

Members of the subcommittee, which met directly after the full Economic Recover Committee this morning, bristled at the perception that the tourism industry is prioritizing business over the health and safety of workers.

Ginn Marvin said that it's important that the message isn't just "willy nilly we want to invite everybody in," but that there's a focus on health and safety too, and it's a delicate balance that the state's response needs to be mindful of.

"Nearly every person in Maine is impacted by tourism in Maine because of how deep the tentacles go" she said. "And retail right there with us. We cant exist if don’t have stores."

Bob Montgomery-Rice, chair of the subcommittee, said no one in the business sector is doing a good job if they don't keep workers and customers safe.

"We’d stay closed, because don’t want to long-term damage our business," said Montgomery-Rice, who is president and CEO of Bangor Savings Bank.

'We're in the eye of the storm'

A draft report published by the subcommittee Thursday suggests the state to make changes to the 14-day in-Maine quarantine for most out-of-state visitors and also suggests the state provide immediate support for those in the industry who have been hurt financially by the pandemic. The subcommittee must submit its report to the Economic and Recovery Committee Monday. The full committee's July 15 report to the governor covers stabilization and support recommendations.

Committee members say that looking at other states' solutions, like the recent quarantine measure in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut that focus directly on state's with increases in COVID-19 cases, is a better model than requiring visitors from all states except New Hampshire and Vermont to quarantine.

The committee also pushed back on suggestions that it's not providing adequate data, but anecdotal information on damage to the tourist industry, which is a $6.7 billion annual economic driver for the state.

"One of the challenges around data is we’re in the eye of storm and it's changing day to day," said committee member Kate Rush. She said that anecdotes are what the industry has for now. "The reality of where we are makes (compiling data) challenging."

David Plumb, who facilitated the meeting, said it may be possible to draw some statistics out of the safety emphasis.

The subcommittee's draft report of this week may be changed before it's submitted to the full committee, which is chaired by Josh Broder, CEO of Tilson, and Laurie Lachance, president of Thomas College. Besides the July 15 report, the full committee's charge is to submit a report on long-term recovery by December.