Canadian tourism in Maine down again for third straight year

n this June 2, 2015 photograph, the Nova Star ferry arrives at the dock in Portland, Maine. Coastal hubs throughout New England increasingly rely on summer tourists to keep the ports busy as they strike a balance between tourism and traditional marine industry. (Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP)

Text:

The Associated Press
Published Sunday, August 21, 2016 3:28PM EDT

PORTLAND, Maine -- Canadian tourism in Maine appears to be down again for the third year in a row.

According to data from the Maine Office of Tourism, approximately 5.5 million Canadians visited Maine in 2013. That number dropped by more than a million in 2015.

Lisa Gribbin, owner of Richards by the Sea, a motel in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, says business is down 15 per cent this year. She told the Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/2bxyk3a ) that usually about half the guests are Canadian.

She says some Canadians called to say they couldn't afford to come this summer or had to cut their usual trip short due to the sluggish economy or the weak Canadian dollar.