Marvelous Maine

I clicked off another state where I’ve talked (rapidly closing in on 40 states) last week when I keynoted the Maine Municipal Association’s 69th Annual Convention. Maine has 491 cities and towns but over 400 of them have less than 3,500 people. In talking with many of these smaller town officials, I found that they face the same issues as small towns that I’ve found all over the country.

Bill Bridgeo, city manager of Augusta, ME related his experience of going down to Waveland, MS, which was virtually wiped out by Hurricane Katrina, with four other city employees to help them get started rebuilding. It was a moving story with some incredible pictures.

Tim Honey, who spent 11 years as city manager in Portland, ME, is now executive director for Sister Cities International (www.sister-cities.org). He discussed the flattening world and the benefits of thinking globally. He related that the USA, especially big tourist areas like Maine, is missing an opportunity to increase visits by international tourists. Our share of global tourism has fallen from 12% to 6% in the past 10 years. And, foreign tourists spend 3 ½ times more than U. S. tourists.

Have any of you involved in tourism given any thought to how you might promote yourself to these foreign visitors?

One comment really caught my attention. Tim mentioned in his talk, “In my 11 years as city manager, I only had one time that I was asked to compromise myself.” The Boston based requester didn’t understand that things work differently, MUCH differently, in a small town. Thank goodness!