The number of people visiting Maine fell for the third year in a row in 2024, spotlighting a growing challenge for one of the state’s primary industries as Gov. Janet Mills anticipates the loss of Canadian visitors amid President Donald Trump’s tariff war.
Maine’s tourist count dropped 3% last year, from 15.27 million visitors in 2023 to 14.8 million in 2024, according to the state’s annual report delivered Thursday at the the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Bangor. After rebounding slightly to 15.6 million visitors in 2021, tourist numbers have fallen off and failed to surpass the pre-pandemic count of 16.4 million in 2019.
Meanwhile, spending by tourists increased 2.2%, from $9 billion in 2023 to $9.2 billion last year, continuing to exceed the pre-pandemic tally of $6.5 billion in 2019, based on data provided by the Maine Office of Tourism.
Visitors stayed nearly 12.4 million nights in Maine hotels and other accommodations last year, up 0.8% from 2023. However, the typical visitor …