The small city of Bethel, Maine, has found a big way to attract tourists: Give them a free fill-up of gas.
The promotion offers a fill-up ($20, maximum) with a stay of three or more nights including weekends from 15 June through 15 October.
The Chamber of Commerce and local innkeepers came up with the premise.
Bethel is perhaps best known as the home of the Sunday River Ski Resort.
“But we offer summer fun, too — championship golf courses, canoeing and fishing on the Androscoggin river, day hikes in the White Mountain National Forest, horseback riding, antique shopping and gem-hunting,” said Allen Connors, manager of the Bethel Inn Resort & Country Club.
The gas program was created to cope with rising prices, he added.
Report by David Wilkening
