Latest news with #OldOrchardBeach
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Maine installs ‘Welcome Canadians' signs as trade war threatens summer tourism
The first "Bienvenue Canadiens!' sign was installed last week in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Maine Gov. Janet Mills said more signs would be installed at border crossings and locations popular with visitors, with other versions of welcome signs to be available for businesses. (Nick Moore/CTV Atlantic) Maine is placing new highway signs across the state to welcome Canadian visitors, as the U.S. trade war threatens to disrupt the upcoming summer tourism season. The first 'Bienvenue Canadiens!' sign was installed last week in Old Orchard Beach, which is a vacation hot spot for Quebec tourists. During a typical summer, up to 40 per cent of Old Orchard Beach visitors come from Canada. Maine Gov. Janet Mills said more signs would be installed at border crossings and locations popular with visitors, with other versions of welcome signs to be available for businesses. 'Look, I know that a sign alone cannot fix this economic uncertainty, but it can convey to our neighbours that they are welcome here, and that we do value their presence in our state,' said Mills in a weekly radio address. 'We do not feel hostility towards our Canadian friends and neighbours.' Governors and premiers to meet in Boston Mills said nearly 800,000 people from Canada visited Maine in 2024, representing about five per cent of the state's total number of visitors last year. 'But this year, just from February to April alone, 166,000 fewer Canadians travelled by land to Maine,' said Mills. 'That's 26 per cent less than the same period last year. That's a big drop in visitors. So, my administration is doing what we can to market Maine as a destination for Canadian travellers.' Mills said New England state governors are scheduled to meet with the premiers of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, and Ontario for a summit in Boston on June 16. 'At that meeting, I plan to discuss our partnerships with Canadians and our work to ensure that our historic friendship and our deeply intertwined economies will endure for generations to come,' said Mills.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Americans hope Canadians stick with stateside summertime traditions
Maine residents offer their thoughts on the ongoing trade war as the tourism season heats up. U.S. resident Don Hoenig has traditionally spent summers in his Old Orchard Beach, Maine, neighbourhood surrounded by Canadians, and he wants to keep it that way. 'So come on down,' says Hoenig. 'Don't stay away just because of politics. We would love to have you.' The simmering U.S. trade war and rhetoric about Canada becoming 'the 51st state' is top of mind in some of southern Maine's vacation communities as the summer tourism season heats up. Cross-border traffic has dropped significantly and there's been a mass cancellation of Canadian reservations at Maine hotels and inns. In response, U.S. resident Mark Duval is proudly flying the Canadian flag outside his Old Orchard Beach home. 'The Canadian flag speaks volumes for me,' says Duval. 'We cherish the Canadians who come down and we have a great friendly relationship with them. And we depend on them.' For Jane Sparks, the tariff turmoil is a bit more personal. Sparks was born in Canada but has spent a large part of the last four decades in the United States where she met her husband. In fact, Sparks was proposed to by the ocean in Old Orchard Beach. Sparks is hoping Canadians will ultimately make a decision to stick with their stateside summertime traditions. 'It's sad that they're not coming because of our political environment,' she says. 'We depend on tourism. And it's a shame to hurt the little people in America.' During a typical summer, up to 40 per cent of Old Orchard Beach visitors come from Canada.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
U.S. tourism operators ‘cautiously optimistic' about Canadian visitors as 51st state rhetoric softens
Tourism operators in Maine are approaching this summer with a bit more optimism compared to a few months ago, as the U.S. trade war with Canada lingers on. 'Back in March it was looking very grim,' says Sterling Morse, owner of the Point of View Inn in Old Orchard Beach. At that time, Morse says almost every Canadian reservation for the upcoming season called to cancel as '51st state' musings from U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up. 'I've changed quite a few minds, Canadian minds, to reverse their cancellations,' says Morse. 'The temperature has come down quite a bit with regards to the rhetoric and things that you guys we're experiencing early on… the tensions that had been starting to mount and brew.' Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said Trump's 51st state idea was 'not coming back.' Still, Morse expects this summer will remain a challenge. 'I think it's going to be bit depressed in terms of reservations,' he says. During a typical summer, up to 40 per cent of Old Orchard Beach visitors travel from Canada, and particularly Quebec. Several hotels and inns have Canada and Quebec flags flying outside their establishments. Kim Howard, executive director of the Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce, says local business operators are 'cautiously optimistic' about the upcoming season. 'We are ready to welcome our Canadian visitors, some that have been coming for generations,' says Howard. The peak times for Canadians visiting Old Orchard Beach arrives in June (around Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day) and continuing through to the Labour Day long weekend. With the unofficial start to summer now here (with Canada's Victoria Day and the U.S. Memorial Day), tourism operators are trying to get an early gauge on how the season may go. Judy Breitmaier operates the Ocean Park Soda Fountain in Old Orchard Beach and says initial indicators for Canadian visitor numbers this season are encouraging. But she's not celebrating yet. 'I've had a lot of Canadians coming in the last few weekends, [and] we're very, very happy,' says Breitmaier. 'They're a big staple to our community. I'm hoping and praying everything just goes the way it's supposed to go, and everyone is going to come back and have a wonderful vacation.'
