By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

MEREDITH – Lakes Region business leaders who represent a variety of tourism interests met with U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, Friday to share concerns for the summer season. A silver lining for them coming out of all the high costs to get here: Retirees are filling seasonal job vacancies to help them make ends meet.

The lack of Canadian tourists last summer – down about 30 percent from normal – because of President Donald Trump’s insulting rhetoric about making their nation the “51st state” and tariffs he imposed has soured visitors from coming from the North.

Tourism leaders expect that will be largely the same this year and are not seeing many other foreign visitors. Shaheen noted the United States was the only industrialized nation in the world that saw a drop in foreign tourism last year.

In addition to the tensions created by Trump’s policies and statements, a new concern has the state’s tourism community on edge as the season begins and that is gas prices, which have shot up an average of about $1.50 a gallon because of the war Trump launched with Iran.

Though the price seems to be coming down slightly at the pump the overall inflationary costs have some holding off on bookings or making last minute decisions on short term visits like weekends.

The retiring Democratic Senator heard that labor is no longer as big an issue as it has been as retirees are looking for seasonal work to help pay for the higher costs at the pump and the grocery store, though they worry that they cannot make too much money to still receive federal benefits.

Shaheen is a senior member of the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee.

She boarded the U.S.S. Winnipesaukee Spirit, owned by Mount Washington Cruises, which stayed at dock in Meredith Harbor and will be docked in Center Harbor as part of a fleet that is expanding.

“We obviously have heard a lot about fuel prices and hope this war will end soon. I heard in the news this afternoon the gas prices have dropped the fastest in the last couple of days than they have in a very long time and it seems like there is good news there will be a peace agreement on the war…if we only could control the weather we would be all set,” Shaheen said.

She listened to leaders of organizations such as Mt. Washington Cruises, Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, Gunstock, the state Division of Travel and Tourism, and lodging and banking interests.
Jared Maraio, general manager of Mt. Washington Cruises welcomed the senator and talked about how bookings are actually up compared to this time last year.

Charlie St. Clair, executive director, Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, noted that the 103rd Laconia Motorcycle Week begins June 13 and last year, Canadian visitation at the rally was down by at least 70 percent.

St. Clair, who has worked for the rally since 1991 is also a Democratic state legislator from Laconia. He said he worries about the continued impact and how it will play out again, only this year, an added problem is high gas prices.

Michelle Cruz, director of the NH Travel and Tourism Development, said she remains optimistic and is staying on message with Canadians that they are welcome here, and there continues to be a promotional presence in Montreal.

She said the state attended a recent outdoor festival there and there is interest in coming here, in the future.

Shaheen said it was important to continue that dialogue with Canada in spite of the political situation in the United States.

Tourism is New Hampshire’s second largest industry supporting 70,000 jobs. She noted that many of the organizations see their association as a mutual benefit and collaboration among them strengthens the tourism product available here, which is very outdoor focused.

Shaheen said she has pressed Congress to support small businesses and mitigate the harmful impacts of President Trump’s tariffs, including with the introduction of the Speedy Tariff Refund Act to ensure full refunds of President Trump’s illegal tariffs that raised costs for American small business owners.

Members of the roundtable also discussed the high cost of housing, which Shaheen noted is now $550,000 for an average home across the state, and how that impacts their recruitment strategies with businesses preferring to hire locals who don’t need to relocate and find expensive housing.

They noted a lot of new housing is going up in the Lakes Region but not much of it is affordable for their staff. Cruz noted that last weekend was Memorial Day Weekend, and The Mount Washington Valley Businesses Report was issued this past week with mixed but mostly positive reports from lodging, restaurants, amenities and retailers.

While the survey did not ask specifically about the presence or lack of presence of Canadians, one retailer said he is “still looking for Canadians.”

In the report, Laura Lemieux from Settlers Green stated, “Mix of reporting from tenants, but it does seem like there has been a small influx of French speaking Canadian visitors in the last two weeks.”

The chamber did ask members over the winter about Canadian visitation and found that it has not the same impact as other areas like the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont or Old Orchard Beach, Maine which rely more heavily on them.

Also an area that historically has seen a lot of Canadian visitors is the Hampton Beach area.
While he did not attend the Lakes Region event Friday, John Nyhan, president of the Hampton Area Chamber of commerce said he is also concerned about the summer business.

“We normally have probably 10 percent to 15 percent of our tourists coming into Hampton during the summer that come from Canada,” Nyhan said. “Now we’ll see a loss of that but in the overall picture not much.  We are more concerned with having a reduction of tourists from New England and New York.”

Still, Nyhan said he remains optimistic about the season ahead.

“I personally think we’re going to have a very good summer. Not an excellent summer, but a very good summer,” he said. “Hotel and motel owners here, up and down the strip, will tell you that they’re good. You know, they’re not excited to, meaning that they’re overbooking, but they’re not under booking either.”

Chris Proulx, executive director of the Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce, said last weekend’s rainy weather played a role, “as it always does, but what stands out is how many of our businesses met or exceeded their own expectations and how strongly our members are feeling about the weeks ahead.

“Visitor interest in Mt. Washington Valley remains high, and we’re seeing that enthusiasm translate into bookings for July and August.”

When asked whether elevated gas prices affected Memorial Day Weekend business, nearly three-quarters of respondents in the Mount Washington Valley said yes or maybe. Only 27 percent reported no perceived effect from gas prices.

Several respondents noted what may be a related behavioral pattern: visitors taking shorter trips and spending more cautiously. “Shorter stays. Spending less,” was how one respondent summarized observed visitor behavior. Whether gas prices or broader economic uncertainty are the primary driver, multiple businesses flagged it as a trend to monitor heading into peak season.

Cruz said the industry is still solid and “we are going with optimism.”

There is hope for an offset to be made up by more local visitors who will stay a shorter time and spend less than foreign travelers have in the past.

St. Clair said so many local businesses hope to jump start their summer season with Bike Week and he was at Daytona Beach for a rally which also saw a continued reduction in Canadian travel.