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Home » News » News » Race-Based Tourism: Maine Taxpayers Fund $165k Grant to Black Travel Influencers for Attracting ‘diverse visitors’ to State
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Race-Based Tourism: Maine Taxpayers Fund $165k Grant to Black Travel Influencers for Attracting ‘diverse visitors’ to State

Edward TomicBy Edward TomicDecember 6, 2024Updated:December 6, 202425 Comments2 Mins Read2K Views
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The State of Maine’s Office of Tourism has awarded a $165,000 grant to a black travel influencer as part of a marketing campaign aimed at attracting more “diverse visitors” and “Black travelers” to Maine.

The contract, dated Nov. 25, indicates that the $165,000 will go to Black Travel Maine, Inc., with a goal of “[Enhancing] Maine’s appeal to Black travelers through itinerary development, influencer engagement, communications and media relations.”

[RELATED: Maine Racial Equity Board Sponsors Educational Walking Tours to Dispel Myth that State is ‘too old and too white’…]

“This work will leverage targeted media relations and strategic partnerships to build awareness of Maine as a welcoming destination for Black travelers to increase year over year visitation of Black travelers to Maine,” the contract states.

Black Travel Maine was recently awarded a separate $7,000 taxpayer-funded contract in order to hold educational walking tours about  the “historical struggles and contributions of Black individuals” and to dispel the myth that Maine is “too old and too white.”

[RELATED: Portland City Council Approves Tourism Bureau’s $74,500 Promotion Campaign for ‘LGTBQ+’ and ‘BIPOC’ Markets…]

The Nov. 25 contract states that it comes as the result of the Maine Office of Tourism’s DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) strategy team.

“Lisa Jones, Founder of Black Travel Maine, is an ideal partner for building awareness of Maine as a destination with the goal of attracting more Black travelers to Maine,” state staff wrote in the contract.

[RELATED: Mills Admin Seeks to Spend $2.7 Million to Boost Recruitment of ‘racial, ethnic, and linguistic minorities’ into Workforce…]

“Through Black Travel Maine and Black Travel Marketing, Lisa has orchestrated several influence and media trips that captures Maine’s cultural diversity and scenic landscape, directly enhancing Maine’s image as an inclusive destination,” they wrote.

“With her connections to influencers, media and content creators in this space, BTM will be able to leverage those relationships to expand Maine’s outreach to underrepresented markets by presenting unique and immersive experiences,” they added.

This marks the second non-competitive no-bid contract Black Travel Maine has received in about a monthlong period, totaling $172,000 in taxpayer dollars.

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Edward Tomic

Edward Tomic is a reporter for The Maine Wire based in Southern Maine. He grew up near Boston, Massachusetts and is a graduate of Boston University. He can be reached at [email protected]

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Bill Morrison
Bill Morrison
1 year ago

If the LL Bean catalog and Yankee Magazine are accurate, there are already loads of minorities in Maine.

27
beachmom
beachmom
1 year ago

Why are the Dems so concerned black people don’t want to come here?
Let people go where they want.
Are they going to try to entice white people to vacation in majority black areas?

31
Dorotea
Dorotea
1 year ago

mills wants more crime like NYC has.

23
ME Infidel
ME Infidel
1 year ago

If you visit Ft. Williams/Portland Head Light in the summer, there are numerous black people visiting the park by car. They also arrive by cruise ship and are bussed from Portland. There are also private buses from Springfield, MA and Bridgeport, CT, etc. with only blacks on them.

Buses with Asians from the Boston area show up on a daily basis. Several hundred Muslims gather for a picnic usually on weekends. And, this is just ONE Maine destination.

I have a sneaky suspicion this not about opening up Maine to black travelers but is a money making scam for Lisa Jones using taxpayer dollars.

28
Cayuga kat
Cayuga kat
1 year ago

Apparently mills hasn’t heard that black people despise democrats now and don’t want to live on her plantation.

24
billyjoebob
billyjoebob
1 year ago

When is this crap going to stop?

22
mark violette
mark violette
1 year ago

DEI

11
Pete
Pete
1 year ago

At this rate,pretty soon there will be no one in Africa to turn the lights off.

5
Paul
Paul
1 year ago

The only color tourism cares about is green.

7
Blob Watcher
Blob Watcher
1 year ago

Lewiston will be the first stop.

4
Kammy
Kammy
1 year ago

YO! YO! YO! Don’t need any more NONS up here, go south ya subhumans

5
Rooster
Rooster
1 year ago

What a racist state we are becoming under Mills and the democrats. So divisive

6
Eddie D.
Eddie D.
1 year ago

Black Travel Maine .
I want to vomit .
And I as a taxpayer have to fund this kind of bullshit .
I wish these black people would just go away .
I’m tired of feeding them , housing them, educating them and listening to them complain .
Go somewhere else if we don’t spend enough on you here .

7
Neecee
Neecee
1 year ago

Why does it matter what race comes to Maine to vacation? The left has lost it

8
DamDoc
DamDoc
1 year ago

Ive been seeing BLM tea shirts on the airplane when flying home lately.. scary looking people that i was wondering why they were coming here. But im probably a racist for pointing that out, right?

5
Sacagawea
Sacagawea
1 year ago

Earlier this year money was set aside for a get together to teach people how to take care of their goats. No lie, look it up. Under Agriculture something.

1
mark violette
mark violette
1 year ago

Black people Pareto principle 20% of the population causes 80% of the problems

4
Bill
Bill
1 year ago

Democrats closet bigotry.

3
Louis Louis
Louis Louis
1 year ago

At the end of the tour , participants are treated to a chilled lobster tail buffet with local vegetables wines and artisan breads. Local rock band legends
“ Rachel Talbot and The Race Baiters “ will provide the music . Maine tax payers fund it all .

7
Jon
Jon
1 year ago

Democrats think they can buy diversity.
They buy political positions, so why not.

4
Roger Grant
Roger Grant
1 year ago

a migrant relocation program disguised and funded as something else.

4
sandy
sandy
1 year ago

Is lobster an ethic food?

0
Larry Jeffries
Larry Jeffries
1 year ago

I wonder whose pocket those grants are going into. Remember the BLM scam?

3
Walter V
Walter V
1 year ago

My only question WHY?

2
Joel
Joel
1 year ago

Lewiston, Biddeford, Sanford…..yeah we need more black “tourism”.

1
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