In the midst of the first ecotourism conference held in the United States, Judy East, Director of Washington County Council of Governments, unveiled Hancock and Washington counties’ plans to develop sustainable tourism there.

It’s a tall order for the state’s two easternmost counties, both economically stressed.

“Hancock County has a 23 percent share of Maine’s tourism market, but nearly all of that is spent on Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia national Park,” said East. The rest of Hancock County and all of Washington County are not well known to out-of-state tourists.

“Washington County attracts only 1.5 percent of the overnight visits in the state,” she said. In fact, taxable sales in restaurants and lodgings declined from 1.24 percent of Maine’s total in 1999 to 1.17 percent in 2003.

To get an idea of what tourism means to Maine as a whole, Maine in 2003 garnered $4 billion in sales of goods and services to visitors. This translated into $2.6 billion in payroll, spread over 122,000 jobs.

East had plenty of people experienced in ecotourism with whom to toss ideas around. The conference, held in Bar Harbor Sept. 14-16, attracted tour operators and resort owners committed to responsible tourism.

Representatives of several of the granddaddies of ecotourism, such as Melody Smith of Maho Bay Camps in the Virgin Islands, were on hand to share information and cheer on newer participants.

The conference organizers, Costas Christ, Executive Director of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, and Martha Honey, Executive Director of The International Ecotourism Society, circulated the “Bar Harbor Declaration on Ecotourism in the United States” for the conferees’ approval.

Defining ecotourism as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people,” the declaration spells out ways ecotourism can “transform the tourism industry in positive ways through the introduction of sustainable practices.”

These goals match those of East’s Destination Stewardship Panel, which developed a strategic plan called Down East Sustainable Tourism Initiative Year 2010 – Destiny 2010 – for Downeast Maine. The plan calls for the development of five sustainable package tours.

The group worked on strategies and action steps for each of the five goals: economic development, ecological conservation, cultural preservation, local coordination and education.

The key, said East, to developing the plans in Hancock and Washington counties was involving local communities. “You are in the land of home rule,” she told the audience from around the country and around the world, and “success depends on their input and support.”

Other presenters stressed that local input and support are vital aspects to any successful ecotourism venture,

Armed with the knowledge that out-of-state visitors to Maine seek nature-based, cultural and historic experiences, the Downeast stewardship panel tailored tours to these preferences.

The natural beauty and resources as well as the cultural heritage of Washington and Hancock counties measure up well to the offerings of other sites where ecotourism currently flourishes.

The challenges will be to develop the infrastructure and facilities appealing to ecotourists.

For the package tours, the stewardship panel noted that bathroom facilities, picnic areas, bikeways, single and multi-use trails, visitor centers, and scenic by-ways need to be in place.

In addition, many of the successful ecotourism ventures are rural lodges and hotels where guests base themselves for outdoor recreation, sport and adventure. These projects are not included in the Destiny 2010 plan and are perhaps better suited to private investment.

Two other Maine presenters described their successes in working towards ecotourism. Nancy Gray, owner of the Harrasseeket Inn in Freeport, discussed the ways she has “greened” the inn.

Ken Olson, president of Friends of Acadia, talked about the success of the Island Explorer bus service on Mount Desert Island. The seven-year old network of 17 propane-powered buses has carried over 1.79 million passengers, reduced private vehicle trips by more than 662,000, eliminated approximately 9.8 tons of smog causing pollutants, and reduced the emission of greenhouse gases by more than 6,200 tons.

In graphic terms, he said, the number of cars kept off Mount Desert roads equals a traffic jam spread from Bar Harbor to Bangor, down the coast and across the Appalachian Mountains to Nashville, Tennessee.

At the conference L.L. Bean made an additional $2.25 million pledge to the bus program. Its original $1 million in 2002 enabled the Island Explorer program to get running.

Maine-grown produce was featured at the receptions and closing dinner.

While the Bar Harbor conference on ecotourism was the first one to be held in the United States, the rest of the world is substantially ahead of the United States in understanding the social and economic power of ecotourism
According to data gathered by The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), ecotourism sites not only attract visitors who are more respectful of the host land, people and customs, but who also spend more money than standard tourists. Furthermore, their money is spent in local communities, rather than on international package tours.

For example: