Welcome to Maine, we hope you like it here. As Mainers gear up for another summer, the relationship between tourist and Mainers comes back into mind. Walking down Commercial Street in June, you’re likely to see fisherman weaving through a sea of tourist as they back down the wharves with trucks full of gear.
Yes, it’s crowded, yet we Mainers share a sense of gratitude extending beyond economics for our summer visitors. Charlie Hunter , born and raised in Yarmouth, is a senior studying English at Whitman College. But of course, when Portland, Bar Harbor, Baxter and beyond become populated with people “from away,” Mainers grumblings about tourists grow.
I wonder if Maine’s identity evolves for the better because of tourism. Tourist season is more than a glorified charity drive for Maine – it’s a time when Maine’s culture is magnified in harmony with a growing summer population. Last summer, 2023, Maine tourism generated $9.
1 billion in revenue for the state. This helped support tens of thousands of jobs for Mainers like myself. Growing up in the Portland area, the money I have saved over the summers for school came from bussing tables and working on lobster boats, both jobs that rely on a commodity export and money spent by people, yes, from away.
Maine is beautiful and quaint, but a large reason why people from away return to our state is the hospitable character of the people here. The camaraderie that Mainers share for each other is palpable, and tourists wan.
