I hope the promotion is successful, lets just hope Baldacci doesn't let Roxanne Quimby buy the rest of the state. Would certainly bring new meaning to the saying "Can't get theyah from heah!"

The innkeepers, motel owners, ski areas, restaurants, guide services, etc. are hopefully all contributing to a joint advertising fund so that together, their dollars are significant enough to purchase break-through levels of media in the key media markets.

Sure, that means any individual advertiser might have to cut back on their own entity's ad budget by maybe 20%, but the hope would be this would be more than made up for by an overall rising tide lifting all boats. Strength in numbers for the greater good.

Also, to the extent that the individual entity advertising can incorporate a common creative thread, such as the "There's More to Maine" tagline, and perhaps a common logo, the whole will be greater than the sum of the parts. To the potential visitor from afar, the effect of such common threading will be a perception that the state has its act together.

Since your comments make sense jaygee, don't hold your breath. Eltman doesn't have a clue about the tourism industry, because she's primarily in that role to help move John Richardson over into the Blaine House as Baldacci departs. While she can hold her own for a few questions related to tourism, after that it will surely turn into some form of a joke or laughing experience.

We need better leadership within our state government, and fewer of these "Queen of Tourism" types (as Eltman likes to be called). Our Maine business owners and taxpayers deserve better!

Please see the following link which shows Maine's tourism budget in the context of the other states' budgets. What makes it particularly small is that tourism is a HUGE industry here.

http://www.tia.org/pressmedia/pdf/state_budgets_04_05.pdf

I'm a strong believer in advertising to more far flung markets. Clearly we need to fish where the fish have historically been caught, but I believe we also need to find new places. The Caribbean Coalition for Tourism used to get good response rates from California, which feels counterintuitive in that Hawaii is so close to California. But Hawaii had become commonplace for many Californians and the Caribbean was considered exotic. People will spend the time and money to get to a place if you give them a reason and tell them often enough. And never lose sight of the fact that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

Because Maine is unlikely to run national media, we have the flexibility of tailoring our message to specific locales. I was in Kings Canyon National Park in California a few years ago and heard all about this amazing lake for swimming. We went there and swam and quite frankly, this lake couldn't hold a candle to Maine's lakes. There are some things that we take for granted that others would be amazed by.

I would give some serious thought to radio. The basic unit length in local radio is :60 and this provides a lengthy communication forum. Nothing is quite as vivid as the theater of the mind when properly stimulated. I believe the stories we can tell about Maine are virtually ENDLESS and radio would be an incredible forum.

Radio ad campaigns tend to have a reach ceiling (usually about 60% of the population) and tend to deliver frequency. My problem with many advertisers' radio schedules is wearout, i.e., listeners get repeatedly beat over the head with the same commercial. But the solution for Maine tourism is simple - have about twenty different ads. I'd keep the start and end of the ads the same, but I'd keep changing the content in the middle.

Just think about how much incredible theater of the mind you could create by describing places in Maine. And think about the almost unlimited number of places and experiences that could fit into this format.

Over time, the many messages would communicate VARIETY and become irresistable. How many times could a parched Los Angelino in their bone dry climatological zone sitting in traffic during the afternoon commute hear about white sandy bottom lakes, fern shrouded waterfalls, giant mossy boulders, polished pink granite water slides and raging rapids without thinking seriously about making a trip here?

Europe is another market. A couple of years ago I recall reading that Camden was featured on the cover of Italy's largest travel magazine.

One of the things we love about Maine is that when you cross over the border into the state you see "Maine - The Way Life Should Be". Not only does this slogan resonate in terms of tourist activities, but it also makes people think about moving here. It is an amazingly powerful encapsulation of all that Maine is, and I would love to see it come back. Too often the strategy seems to be change for change's sake and as a result, good stuff gets thrown out simply for the sake of change.

Tourism and moving here are inextricably tied. My guess is that if you conducted a study of in-migrants from the last 10 years, you'd find most had already come here as tourists.

The slogan "Maine - The Way Life Should Be" was perfect. Not only did it inspire tourists, but also migrants. Many of these are retirees who bring lots of money, pay taxes but don't burden the school systems.

It's about time someone realized that there is a state of Maine beyond the immediate coastline. As a person who travels to many states, cities, and towns around the country on business, I find it repulsive that most eveyone I've talked with who has never been to Maine only seems to know about the York to Portland coastline. And those who have come here once visited that same stretch of coastline because that's all that they've ever heard about in Maine. This state depends heavily on tourism and the state needs to step up it's tourism budget and also advertise the beauty of the whole state, not just the T-shirt alley that is Rte. 1 on the southern coast. Isn't it ironic that most first time visitors only experience a part of Maine that is so far removed from a true Maine experience that it hardly is Maine. They go back home to tell their friends and family about the beautiful rocky shoreline, miles of traffic jams and traffic lights along Rte.1, along with a plethora of fast food restaurants and cheep tacky souvenir/T-shirt shops. Very sad that they don't get a taste of what most of us consider to be "the real Maine".

If we had some larger 3 and 4 diamond hotels in the inland areas, more visitors would go there...but until this type of upgrade/development happens, don't hold your breath waiting for the tourists to arrive.

In reality, while Maine is certainly a nice destination, it is NOT a "world class" region. While the politicians like to say that, don't forget, it's just because they want you to vote for them. The competition is wicked tough in today's tourism industry, and Maine needs to do some serious upgrades if it wants to keep up (much less compete) with our neighbors to the north, south and west.