Known for its beautiful foliage, Maine is often a destination during the autumn months for those looking to soak in the colorful sights, typically bringing with them some financial benefit to the places they visit.
While not necessarily as substantial as summer tourism — an industry understood to be a key part of many local economies throughout the state — fall visitors can also be thought of as playing an important role in boosting local businesses. Despite this, not everyone is always happy with having outsiders flood their towns during this period of the year, particularly on the heels of a busy summer season.
A recent survey shows that just under two-thirds of Mainers statewide believe that fall tourism has either a very or somewhat positive impact on their local area.
According to a new Pine Tree State Poll — a States of Opinion Project, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center — Northern Mainers are the most likely to be enthusiastic about fall tourists, while Central Mainers are the least.
Across all regions of the state, however, positivity toward tourists coming to Maine in the fall is the dominant position.
The share of Mainers excited about fall tourism ranges from 53 percent to a height of 72 percent. Falling in between these two extremes, 65 percent of Southern Mainers also believe that autumn tourism is beneficial to them.
Compared to other New England states, Mainers’ attitudes are most similar to those of New Hampshire residents, while those from Vermont are evenly more widely enthusiastic about out-of-staters coming to visit during the autumn months.
When broken down by party affiliation, Democrats are more likely to believe fall tourists serve to benefit their area, while Republicans are more skeptical. Independents were found to roughly align with those registered as Democrats.
Neither age nor gender proved to make a significant difference in how Mainers perceived fall tourists, with all demographics hovering around 50 to 60 percent.
The level of education achieved by respondents did create some variation in opinion, with 51 percent of those who graduated high school expressing a favorable viewpoint of fall tourists compared to 74 percent of those with a postgraduate degree.
