BOOTHBAY HARBOR — Shop owners and hoteliers in the Boothbay region say they are prepping for a busy season despite high gas prices and statewide statistics that showed a dip in visitors last year.
Bookings at four properties owned by Lafayette Hotels in Boothbay Harbor are up so far this year, said Bonnie Stover, general manager at the Tugboat Inn.
“All four hotels are trending ahead of last year right now,” Stover said. “It’s still early. Advanced deposits are up, quantity of reservations and the room nights associated with them are up from last year.”
If the trend holds, it will build on what Stover described as a strong 2025.
“When it’s good weather our food and beverage operation does well, our hotel does well also,” she said. “We had a good season last year.”
A report released late last month by the Maine Office of Tourism showed visits statewide were down 4.4% in 2025, although direct tourism spending exceeded $9 billion, a record high.
The report describes “a meaningful shift toward high-value travelers,” with spending per person per trip reaching $662.
At the Smiling Cow in downtown Boothbay Harbor, Mark Gimbel said his shops, which sell t-shirts, hats, mini-lighthouses and other popular tourist souvenirs, saw a 4% increase in sales last year.
“We were just hoping to stay even so we were quite happy with that result,” he said.
Looking ahead, Gimbel is hoping to do as well as last year, saying he knows that sales don’t increase every year.
He’s not too worried about high gas prices, saying that most of the visitors to the region are coming from nearby New England states. He expects those who have already planned a trip to stick with their vacation despite the potential for increased costs.
“If they have a vacation scheduled, they are going on vacation,” he said. “They’re not going to end it because of gas prices.”
Gimbel said the Boothbay region also has several attractions that keep visitors coming back, such as the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and a long list of festivals.
In addition to Windjammer Days (June 21-27) and other events organized by the local chamber, Boothbay Harbor is sponsoring a special drone light show July 18 to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary.
“Seven hundred drones will be in the sky doing 20 different formations,” he said. “It will be a once in a lifetime thing for the Boothbay region.”
Across the harbor, lobsterman Nick Page, owner of Atlantic Edge Lobster, said he and others are dealing with high diesel prices this spring, paying over $5 a gallon.
“That’s a big factor,” he said. “Bait’s always an expensive part of our business. Bait prices never seem to go down, like everything they go up and up. It is what it is. You never know in the fishing business.”
Their seafood market sells to tourists and locals, but most of his business is wholesale to restaurants around town. A sign at the market on Friday listed the price of a 1 ¼ pound softshell lobster at $8.75 for retail customers.
Asked whether he is optimistic about the coming season, Page said he expects folks to visit just like usual.
“If they plan to come, they are going to come despite the fuel prices,” he said. “I don’t expect it to be much different than the last few, but you never really know until it happens. We’re going to be prepared for whatever comes at us.”
At Carousel Marina and Whale’s Tale Restaurant, Emma Van Der Veen said the weather often impacts their business. They typically see things get busy when Windjammer Days begin in mid-June.
Dock slips are fully booked, and the mooring reservations are also looking strong, she said.
But they are aware that other financial pressures could tamp down business this year.
“The cost of living is definitely something that we’ve talked about in the office and as a family, wondering how it’s going to affect the business,” he said. “Fuel is definitely one of those things if people can’t afford to buy dinner one night they’re definitely not buying gas.”
Van Der Veen said she hopes economic pressures ease in the coming weeks. They are already looking forward to September, when they host a tuna fishing challenge that draws 100 boats and the family members of fishermen who stay dockside while the competitors are at sea.
One of the businesses they might visit in town is Coastal Maine Popcorn, which offers unusual flavors such as chocolate covered bacon and buffalo wing.
Owner Julie Roberts, who is also president of the board of the Boothbay Region Chamber of Commerce, said popcorn sales were up last year and she’s looking forward to another strong season.
If gas prices continue to be high, Roberts said it may mean those who come to Boothbay stay here longer, rather than take side trips out of the region.
“Maybe people are going to come, hopefully stay a little longer in Boothbay Harbor, we’d love to have them for their whole vacation time,” she said. “And maybe they’re just not hopping around as much.”
