By mid-spring of most years, Jennika Lundy, owner of a cottage rental agency in Northport, is booked solid for the prime summer weeks. But she still has vacancies.
“I’m shaking in my boots,” Lundy said.
Lundy has owned Bayside Cottage Rentals for thirteen years. The only time bookings have been this sparse was in the summer of 2020, at the height of the pandemic, she said.
Many people whose livelihoods depend on the state’s $16.5 billion tourist industry are watching uneasily as the season takes shape amidst an affordability crisis that has pushed gas, healthcare, and food costs to punishing highs. At the same time, the U.S.-led war in Iran is dragging on and international visitors are staying away.
Many of Lundy’s customers return year after year to stay in the Bayside summer colony’s gingerbread cottages. She typically has a steady flow of people from Washington D.C., but that’s thinned as some lost jobs as the Trump administration slashed the federal workforce.
One Canadian family told her they’re going to Prince Edward Island this year, keeping their dollars in their own country instead of crossing the border.
Travel prices were nearly six percent higher in March compared to the same month last year, according to data from the U.S. Travel Association, an industry trade group. Gas costs, now up nearly 20 percent compared to last year, are driving the price increase.
Fewer visitors came to Maine in 2025 than the year before — tourism numbers fell by about 4 percent — but spending was up, according to a report released this week at the annual Maine Tourism Conference in Rockport.
International travel to the U.S. has taken a real hit, said Nicole Porter, the vice president of political affairs for the U.S. Travel Association, speaking at the conference on Wednesday.
Of particular concern to Mainers: Visits from Canadians are down more than 20 percent, she said.
“We are seeing a real serious challenge,” she said.
She also noted that while domestic travel to the U.S. is holding steady, it is being largely driven by the richest Americans.
“It’s a bifurcation that’s reshaping where spending goes,” she said.
Americans are still traveling, said Carolann Ouelette, director of the Maine Office of Tourism, in an email. But they are sticking closer to home, she said, and opting to drive instead of fly. Maine’s location, within a day’s drive of multiple major cities, may be an asset in this economy, she said.
“When travelers are looking for destinations closer to home, Maine has historically done well,” she said.
Katharine Hassenfratz, who handles bookings for the Schooner American Eagle, out of Rockland, said reservations are about 40% full. That’s a slight downtick from other years, she said, one she attributes to the state of the economy.
The schooner’s all-inclusive packages can give some customers sticker-shock, especially when they’re worried about rising costs in general.
“I think when people see a big number like that, especially now, they say ‘I could never pay that,’” she said.
In reality, she says, the costs work out to around $300 per person each day, which someone could easily spend on travel, lodging, activities and restaurants. “It’s kind of the best bang for your buck,” Hassenfratz said.
Clifton Ames, a registered Maine guide based in Rockport, said it’s still too early to tell how this year will be. People increasingly wait until the last minute to book, he said. But he said he doubts that high gas prices alone would keep his customers away.
“The guy that’s coming to me isn’t worried about the $30 extra for the fuel to get here from New Jersey,” he said.
But he noted that families might feel more squeezed as costs for everything from fishing licenses to lodging continue to climb.
Between sessions at the tourism conference, Audrey Leeds Miller, co-owner of the Cottage Connection of Maine, a rental agency in Boothbay, said was feeling optimistic about the upcoming season. Bookings are strong, she said.
“The affluent travelers, they’re traveling,” she said. “I think that people who don’t have as much money are being much more cautious.”
Dorothy Havey, the head of the Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce, said she’s not hearing major worries from local business owners, despite the fact that they are seeing fewer international visitors.
Tourists may likely spend less this season, Havey said, opting to go out for breakfast instead of dinner, shop less, or picnic instead of dining out. But she doubts they’ll stay away altogether.
“People are creative,” she said. “When you have something as beautiful as this area is, they’re going to come.”
As summer approaches, Lundy is pounding the pavement, trying to turn that sentiment into reality — and fill her calendar.
Even if fewer people from away visit this summer, Lundy hopes Mainers will come through for their neighbors and explore what their home state has to offer. Many people zoom right by the turnoff to Bayside on Route One, never even knowing the quaint coastal village is there, she said.
“Just unplug and come play and search for sea glass. Do a puzzle. Read a book,” she said. “This is such a hidden gem.”
