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By Leslie Bridgers, Morning Sentinel, Waterville, MaineMcClatchy-Tribune Regional News Aug. 29--Nearly every morning, Rick Martin is in the breakfast room of the Comfort Inn & Suites in Wilton chatting
with guests while they eat. He tells them about the Wire Bridge in New Portland, the snowshoe trails out the hotel's back door and the best places to find moose in Franklin County. Martin, the general manager, is on a mission to turn his hotel from a place to stop and rest into a destination. "Very often they don't realize what's just around the corner," he said. There's untapped tourism potential in Franklin County, and it could be the key to revitalizing the area's economy, according to Bowdoin College Professor David Vail. Though western Maine's wilderness long has been a draw for visitors, vacationers these days -- called experiential tourists -- are looking for a more complete package, Vail said, with options for the food- and art-loving family members, as well as the outdoorsy ones. Vail is the author of a study published this month by the Maine Center for Economic Policy that calls for a $100 million investment in Maine's rural tourism during the next five years. In the report, Vail looked at the assets and shortcomings of three counties -- Franklin, Piscataquis and Washington -- and the steps that should be taken to bring in more people for longer stays. "Our mission is to find a way to revitalize the rural economy," he said Thursday. Franklin doesn't have as dire infrastructure issues as the other two counties, he said, but there's a need for other improvements, such as more trail signs to guide hikers through the woods and roadside informational kiosks for motorists traveling the scenic byways. Vail called for enhancing the quality of customer service at restaurants, hotels and retails stores throughout the county. He also pointed to the importance of developing Farmington into a cultural hub, acting as a gateway to points north, like Sugarloaf and the Rangeley Lakes. Many of the suggestions in Vail's report mirror efforts that are already underway by a new group of businesses and organizations called the Franklin County Tourism Network. This spring, the group held a pilot series of customer service training sessions. The plan is to start offering the classes every year, said Alison Hagerstrom, executive director of the Greater Franklin Development Corp. Another project in progress is the redrawing of the Franklin Loop map, which lays out the cultural, recreational and historical points of interest throughout the county. Replacing a 20-year-old version, the new map will be unveiled in October, when the tourism network is officially launched, Hagerstrom said. The mission of the new network is to bring together everyone involved in the tourism industry, including competitors, to make sure visitors are having positive experiences all-around, so they come back. Part of the problem facing Franklin is that there's no image or tagline associated with it, Hagerstrom said. "When you say Franklin County, what comes to mind?" she said. Piscataquis has the Hundred-Mile Wilderness and Washington is within Maine's Bold Coast. "We lack that brand," she said. The Rangeley Lakes can conjure up a specific picture, said Rebecca Schinas, executive director of the region's chamber of commerce. But there's no money to market it, she said. Schinas said there are fewer hunters, fishermen and snowmobilers coming through and more families looking for different things to do, and the region has reacted to that shift. The Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum opened in Oquossoc this month. On the same day, construction began on a new scenic turnout at Height of Land on Route 17 in Township D. A new park by Haley Pond in Rangeley will open at the end of September. But there's a lot of competition both within the state and throughout the country for vacationers in search of scenic views, Schinas said. Without more money for marketing, Rangeley will continue having a hard time attracting the tourists who typically go to places like Acadia. "We really don't have the funding to compete with them head-to-head," she said. "We need the reach to let experiential tourists know what we offer." The Maine Office of Tourism tracks visitors by region. Franklin County is part of the Maine Lakes and Mountains region, which also includes Oxford County and part of Cumberland County. That area drew about 3 million overnight visitors in 2008, making it the fifth most popular for tourism of the eight regions in the state. It tied with the Maine Highlands, comprising Bangor, Katahdin and Moosehead Lake. The report by the state said the number of overnight visitors was steady throughout the seasons. Brad Larsen, Sugarloaf's vice president of sales and marketing, said the ski resort hasn't seen a decline during the winter, but needed new activities to boost summer sales. New zip lines have sold out every day since they opened Aug. 7, he said. Sugarloaf also started running its ski lifts in July for the first time, so people can ride to the summit and take in the view. Larsen said the guests have come from Carrabassett Valley and Canada. "It's people from all over," he said. Martin, at the Comfort Inn, said his winter guests include skiers from Massachusetts, taking a break for the night before the final stretch to Sugarloaf. In the summer, he said, they're the Canadians on their way to Nova Scotia, cutting through Maine from Montreal. "Our hotel is a really good stopping point," he said. But Martin wants it to be more than that. Since the Comfort Inn opened two years ago, he said, he's seen some people come back and stay two nights instead of one. "We need to let the guests know that they don't need to pass by us," he said. Leslie Bridgers -- 861-9252
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