United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Cruisers getting free hotels in Maine
Maine’s just-started 2006 cruise season has something new: business card-size vouchers good for a free night at select lodging places.
The vouchers are part of a new program called “Free-Stay Maine.”
Organizers hope to hand out 100,000 of the vouchers to encourage repeat visitors.
Tourism is the state’s largest industry but visitation has been flat for the past five years, according to news reports. So officials are looking at non-traditional ways to attract new and repeat business.
The cruise passengers are particularly desirable visitors because they typically have high-average incomes. More than two thirds in a study said they wanted to return to the state.
“We’re getting passengers and tourists from non-traditional market areas, so we want them to come back,” said Amy Powers, director of CruiseMaine, the coalition conducting the program.
A typical hotel room in Bar Harbor is worth anywhere from $100 to $300, tourist officials said.
Report by David Wilkening
David
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
Robert Terrell: A Journey Through BB King’s Influence
Rochelle Hicks: Celebrating Mississippi’s Musical Legacy
Exploring Jacksonville with Katie Mitura: The Flip Side of Florida
Dozens fall ill in P&O Cruises ship outbreak
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Boy falls to death on cruise ship
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel