State Rep. Ryan Fecteau
AUGUSTA — Each year, tens of millions of tourists flock to Maine. In 2017 alone, there were nearly 37 million. Some are hoping that some of those visitors will stick around after their vacation and make their trip to Maine permanent. And to let visitors know they are wanted year round, a bill has been proposed to rebrand the state, at least on residents’ license plates.
Rep. Kent Ackley, I-Monmouth, has sponsored, with Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford as co-sponsor, LD 120, a bill that would change the vehicle license plate slogan for Vacationland to Staycationland.
Ackley acknowledges the change, on first blush, may not be popular. After all, Maine’s Vacationland slogan has been in place since 1936. But, he said, he hopes people don’t rush to judgment to dismiss his proposal out of hand and at least listen to his reasoning.
According to Ackley, the Vacationland slogan was adopted to fill a need for the state. At that time Maine, like the rest of the country, was in the midst of the Great Depression and the state was struggling economically. The catchword was selected “to remind people that Maine was not just a remote part of the country but also a destination,” he said. The slogan has worked well, Ackley said. According to the Maine Office of Tourism, about 36.7 million tourists visited Maine in 2017
But now, Ackley said, the state has a new need, and a new slogan, a new branding for Maine is necessary.
“Baby boomers are retiring at a very high rate,” he said. “Unless we want to get to the point that businesses and jobs move elsewhere” something needs to be done.
“The big problem with vacation is that when you’re done you go home,” Ackley said. The state needs people to stick around, he said, it needs workers.
The state needs to sell itself to people who have left the Maine, Ackley said, people who have visited on vacation and even those who have never been, to relocate to The Pine Tree State.
“If we make Maine the land of staycations” Ackley said, the state can attract people by creating an image that Maine is great place to live because even while working here “you can be on vacation all year round.” Maine has something to offer during all four seasons, he said, and has “an awesome quality of life.”
Assistant Majority leader Fecteau also thinks changing the state slogan to Staycationland on license plates is a good way to attract new residents.
“I was born and raised in Biddeford,” he said. “I left the state for college but returned because I know just how much Maine has to offer. But when I look around, I see many young people leaving our state and not coming back. I want our citizens and our visitors to see the futures they can have here in Maine, and I want diverse populations from outside of Maine to be attracted here.”
Like Ackley, Fecteau said the state has a lot to offer year round and on many different levels.
“We have beautiful coasts, lakes, mountains, and more that make Maine a great spot for a vacation,” he said, “but we also have jobs, school systems, and communities that merit building a life by staying right here in Maine. That’s what I want people to see and feel when they drive behind our cars.”
The bill would have minimal to no fiscal impact, Ackley said. If passed, he said, LD 120 would be phased in and only require those who need a new license plate to then purchase one with the new slogan.
The bill will be discussed on Thursday, Feb. 7, in the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation.
— Associate Editor Dina Mendros can be contacted at 780-9014 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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