A warm and fuzzy philosophy, espoused by a prime mover in the inappropriately named Bar Harbor CoC that has far more off island members than locals. They may be unique in that. They pander to cruise ships and go just about totally dark in the off season. This chamber. denies the financial impact of natural beauty, refuses to celebrate it, but soe e 2 million plus get it and flock here to spend far more time than the few hours speed dating visitors are allloted and as long as pristine exists we're in great shape. Meanwhile, what's crucial to the well being of the 10,000 year round residents, hardy souls this chamber purposefully ignores, is maintaining this as a sanctuary for those visitors looking for nothing to do except relax, recharge, and revel in sweet silence as they revitalize while hiking our trails and bicycling on traffic free carriage roads. The super hardy and very youn Ig, splash in our icy cold, crystal clear waters, some with lips as blue as the sky. The seafaring skim on top of the mighty Atlantic braced by brine's crisp cleanliness. That this chamber ignores every bit of this doesn't matter as natural beauty is a magnet. Nature built it and they will keep coming as long as it exists. All the while this chamber, a woe begotten group if ever there was one, fights tooth and nail for an industry that pollutes with virtual abandon. Whatever $ they put in our banks accounts isn't worth the filthy mess they create and do a piss poor job to remediate.
The Chamber of Commerce should travel en masse to Florida. Perhaps Disneyworld or Universal Studios would welcome them as Chamber members are quick to respond to Ka-Ching, Ka-Ching more than the laments of year-round Bar Harbor residents who did not ask the Chamber to turn their town into a cash register for tourism and Augusta.
But, if Bar Harbor is going to host hundreds of thousands of tourists each year then the tourists should bear the financial costs of coming, not the town residents. A local tax would help take the burden of tourism related costs off the backs of homeowners. Residents pay high property taxes which subsidize the cost of hosting tourists (more police, higher transfer station costs, higher infrastructure costs for sewer improvements and maintenance, and more). The local tax would defray some of those costs; it would not stop tourists from crowding the streets and spending their money, as some would have you believe. If the Chamber of Commerce were to travel to Florida, members would find that local county taxes in Florida do not stop tourists from going there. But then they already know that.
I love to travel. Yes, I do consider cost when selecting destinations. Most places I wish to visit charge local fees. Given the burden it puts on some of these precious , beautiful locations, it seems fair to me to support the local infrastructure and services to unburden the costs of visitors to local residents. Typically, the local taxes charged are a drop in the bucket compared to lodging and food.
What really irritates me is when hotels , restaurants are not offering pro environmental policies such as recycling, reducing use of plastics, renewable energy resources, and sourcing local foods and services. Organic healthy food is a big draw, and many are willing to pay extra for this benefit, so the local tourist tax seems reasonable, too, in visiting a place that survives by supporting the local ecosystem.
Tourists, visitors , need to be encouraged by entities like the BH Chamber of Commerce to not only be good stewards of our spectacular Island communities and Park, but to respect local residents without flooding them out, and to pay our fair share of local costs.
When I first joined the BCC 8 out of 10 members were hotels, motels, B&Bs, and Inns and the chamber had a great website, one that my sister in law, a professional graphics designer spent countless hours perfecting. All the chamber cared about back then was the lodging trade and a tiny company like mine was almost totally ignored despite a yearly membership fee of $300 + and hundreds more spent on web and chamber book ads. In all the time I belonged I don't think a single client ever said that the chamber had played a role in their signing up for one of my charter boat tours. So why did I shell out hundreds of dollars a year to belong? Simply put I figured it was my responsibility to the community at large to belong. Then along came the Internet and suddenly the lodging trade shifted their ad dollars online. Soon thereafter gift shops, eateries, and bars began joining the chamber figuring that this would allow them to scoop up those who wandered into Bar Harbor after a brief stop at LL Beans in Freeport. Seeing the writing on the wall then BCC Director Chris Fogg deserted what promised to be a sinking ship and sought and gained employment at the state chamber. Not long before he left I approached him as a professional photographer with a wide selection of images leveraging both the great natural beauty of the MDI area as well as the myriad number of businesses catering not to the "shop 'till ya drop" crowd but rather to those truly eager to experience first hand the great natural beauty of this spectacular area. Chris showed great interest in my images as he was planning on a renovation of the somewhat tired chamber website. Or at least he did until the matter of fees arose at which point he said he'd have to check with his current photographer to see what her charges would be for website images. He called a week later to inform me that she said she would allow the him free use of images previously limited to the Chamber Book. Mr somewhat heated response was that the only way I could beat "free" would be for me to pay "him" to use my images...followed by the admonition to "not hold his breath waiting for my check." Among the 50 or so images I displayed while making my pitch were a half dozen or so photos of cruise ships. While viewing them Chris asked me what I thought of cruise ships and it was crystal clear that my answer had better me in the negative! Having assured him that I was not a big fan of Big Ships it was clear I had selected the right checkbox. Fast forward a decade and suddenly the BCC Director is a huge fan of the cruise ship industry, going so far today as to suggest that their continued visits were essential to Bar Harbor's economic survival.
One can't help but wonder why? Spoiler alert: I suspect that the vast majority of business currently big fans of the cruise ship industry directly benefit economically fro their visits and what's good for locals be damned!
Hi Winston just a quick point of clarity. I'm only the board president of the chamber. I know that same mistake has been made by a few others previously. We have a wonderful and dedicated staff (including an executive director) who run the chamber day to day.
We actually have our board meeting next week and I'll share your message with the entire board and the day to day staff. Appreciate your detailed feedback as a former member.
A warm and fuzzy philosophy, espoused by a prime mover in the inappropriately named Bar Harbor CoC that has far more off island members than locals. They may be unique in that. They pander to cruise ships and go just about totally dark in the off season. This chamber. denies the financial impact of natural beauty, refuses to celebrate it, but soe e 2 million plus get it and flock here to spend far more time than the few hours speed dating visitors are allloted and as long as pristine exists we're in great shape. Meanwhile, what's crucial to the well being of the 10,000 year round residents, hardy souls this chamber purposefully ignores, is maintaining this as a sanctuary for those visitors looking for nothing to do except relax, recharge, and revel in sweet silence as they revitalize while hiking our trails and bicycling on traffic free carriage roads. The super hardy and very youn Ig, splash in our icy cold, crystal clear waters, some with lips as blue as the sky. The seafaring skim on top of the mighty Atlantic braced by brine's crisp cleanliness. That this chamber ignores every bit of this doesn't matter as natural beauty is a magnet. Nature built it and they will keep coming as long as it exists. All the while this chamber, a woe begotten group if ever there was one, fights tooth and nail for an industry that pollutes with virtual abandon. Whatever $ they put in our banks accounts isn't worth the filthy mess they create and do a piss poor job to remediate.
The Chamber of Commerce should travel en masse to Florida. Perhaps Disneyworld or Universal Studios would welcome them as Chamber members are quick to respond to Ka-Ching, Ka-Ching more than the laments of year-round Bar Harbor residents who did not ask the Chamber to turn their town into a cash register for tourism and Augusta.
But, if Bar Harbor is going to host hundreds of thousands of tourists each year then the tourists should bear the financial costs of coming, not the town residents. A local tax would help take the burden of tourism related costs off the backs of homeowners. Residents pay high property taxes which subsidize the cost of hosting tourists (more police, higher transfer station costs, higher infrastructure costs for sewer improvements and maintenance, and more). The local tax would defray some of those costs; it would not stop tourists from crowding the streets and spending their money, as some would have you believe. If the Chamber of Commerce were to travel to Florida, members would find that local county taxes in Florida do not stop tourists from going there. But then they already know that.
I spoke in favor of the Local Options Tax, testifying in front of the Tax Committee in Augusta.
I love to travel. Yes, I do consider cost when selecting destinations. Most places I wish to visit charge local fees. Given the burden it puts on some of these precious , beautiful locations, it seems fair to me to support the local infrastructure and services to unburden the costs of visitors to local residents. Typically, the local taxes charged are a drop in the bucket compared to lodging and food.
What really irritates me is when hotels , restaurants are not offering pro environmental policies such as recycling, reducing use of plastics, renewable energy resources, and sourcing local foods and services. Organic healthy food is a big draw, and many are willing to pay extra for this benefit, so the local tourist tax seems reasonable, too, in visiting a place that survives by supporting the local ecosystem.
Tourists, visitors , need to be encouraged by entities like the BH Chamber of Commerce to not only be good stewards of our spectacular Island communities and Park, but to respect local residents without flooding them out, and to pay our fair share of local costs.
When I first joined the BCC 8 out of 10 members were hotels, motels, B&Bs, and Inns and the chamber had a great website, one that my sister in law, a professional graphics designer spent countless hours perfecting. All the chamber cared about back then was the lodging trade and a tiny company like mine was almost totally ignored despite a yearly membership fee of $300 + and hundreds more spent on web and chamber book ads. In all the time I belonged I don't think a single client ever said that the chamber had played a role in their signing up for one of my charter boat tours. So why did I shell out hundreds of dollars a year to belong? Simply put I figured it was my responsibility to the community at large to belong. Then along came the Internet and suddenly the lodging trade shifted their ad dollars online. Soon thereafter gift shops, eateries, and bars began joining the chamber figuring that this would allow them to scoop up those who wandered into Bar Harbor after a brief stop at LL Beans in Freeport. Seeing the writing on the wall then BCC Director Chris Fogg deserted what promised to be a sinking ship and sought and gained employment at the state chamber. Not long before he left I approached him as a professional photographer with a wide selection of images leveraging both the great natural beauty of the MDI area as well as the myriad number of businesses catering not to the "shop 'till ya drop" crowd but rather to those truly eager to experience first hand the great natural beauty of this spectacular area. Chris showed great interest in my images as he was planning on a renovation of the somewhat tired chamber website. Or at least he did until the matter of fees arose at which point he said he'd have to check with his current photographer to see what her charges would be for website images. He called a week later to inform me that she said she would allow the him free use of images previously limited to the Chamber Book. Mr somewhat heated response was that the only way I could beat "free" would be for me to pay "him" to use my images...followed by the admonition to "not hold his breath waiting for my check." Among the 50 or so images I displayed while making my pitch were a half dozen or so photos of cruise ships. While viewing them Chris asked me what I thought of cruise ships and it was crystal clear that my answer had better me in the negative! Having assured him that I was not a big fan of Big Ships it was clear I had selected the right checkbox. Fast forward a decade and suddenly the BCC Director is a huge fan of the cruise ship industry, going so far today as to suggest that their continued visits were essential to Bar Harbor's economic survival.
One can't help but wonder why? Spoiler alert: I suspect that the vast majority of business currently big fans of the cruise ship industry directly benefit economically fro their visits and what's good for locals be damned!
Hi Winston just a quick point of clarity. I'm only the board president of the chamber. I know that same mistake has been made by a few others previously. We have a wonderful and dedicated staff (including an executive director) who run the chamber day to day.
We actually have our board meeting next week and I'll share your message with the entire board and the day to day staff. Appreciate your detailed feedback as a former member.
Have a great evening!
Error noted, apology extended.