Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I I N O. X V J U LY 2 5 , 2 0 2 2 6 Broadband effort gets $110 million Maine will receive $110 million in federal funds to provide high-speed internet access for remote locations in the state's rural counties. e funding will go to Maine Infrastructure Ready, a competitive broadband infrastructure grant program administered by the Maine Connectivity Authority, a quasi- governmental agency. e program is expected to bring high-speed inter- net connections to 22,500 households in Maine. Funding comes from the American Rescue Plan's Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund. CNBC eases up on Maine in ranking Maine is the eighth-worst state for business, according to an analy- sis released by cable news network CNBC. e Pine Tree state ranked No. 43 on CNBC's list of "Top States for Business 2022." e good news is Maine's yearly ranking moved up from the previous year's position of No. 48. Among 10 criteria, Maine ranked highest in the "life, health and inclusion" category, at No. 2, and low- est for infrastructure, at No. 49. e state's second-highest rank, No. 19, was for business-friendliness. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E UScellular donated 25 wireless hotspots and two years of service, valued at $28,150, to Penquis Community Action Program in Bangor as part of its After School Access Project. The company also donated B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E Honesty, integrity and mutual respect are the values that guide us. Stephen Dumont, VP CONTACT (207) 490-5900 www.tpdconstruction.com York Hospital Care Center, Sanford CO N S T RU C T I O N M A N A G EM EN T s D E S I G N / B U I L D s G EN ER A L CO N T R A C T I N G B R I E F Housing crunch hits tourism industry: 'We're turning our hotels into housing, and our housing into hotels' B y R e n e e C o r d e s P o r t l a n d — Tourism and travel experts from around the country gave a mixed industry outlook at a recent meeting of the National Governors Association in Portland. "The past couple of years have been a roller coaster for our tourism industry," said the NGA's outgoing chairman, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. "It's been tough." Nineteen governors attended the three-day event, which wrapped up July 15. Gov. Janet Mills and some of her peers raised concerns about the lack of affordable housing for hospitality work- ers and the impact the shortage may have on the industry. Amid the discussion about tourism, Mills said that while tourism visits and spending are up in Maine, "the problem we have is workforce housing," and that she's open to sug- gestions on how to support that. "It seems to be a major impediment to supplying work- force housing for the industry," she said. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker also chimed in on the issue. Noting that young people want to work in resorts "but there's no place for them to live," Sununu put much of the blame on VRBO, an online marketplace for short-term vaca- tion rentals similar to Airbnb, for taking much needed housing off the market for restaurant and other workers. "We're turning our hotels into housing, and our housing into hotels," he said, noting that there are entire towns in his state that want to ban VRBO because restaurants can't bring in workers. Baker said that short-term rentals are also a "really big problem" in Massachusetts, especially in resort areas, but reported some progress of housing for workers being built. 'Staycations' make a return Amir Eylon, president and CEO of the Columbus, Ohio-based travel research firm Longwoods International, said 92% of Americans have plans to travel somewhere in the next six month. But four out of 10 say they are reducing the number of trips they are taking because of high prices at the gas pump. With travel expenses soaring, people are more likely to visit destinations closer to home, echoing the "staycation" mantra of past economic downturns. "COVID has been replaced by inflationary fears for travel- ers," Eylon said. Keiko Matsudo Or rall, executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, underscored the need for robust support of marketing as rising prices prompt travelers to make "smarter" plans involving multiple stops on one journey. "Tourism does matter," she said, "and we need the resources to do the marketing and to tell the stories of the great resources in our state." Chris Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA, a public-private partnership that promotes the United States as a premier travel destination, spoke of travel and tourism as the "front door to economic development." P H O T O / R E N E E C O R D E S Gov. Janet Mills and some of her peers at the 2022 National Governors Association session on travel and tourism raised concerns about the lack of affordable housing for hospitality workers.

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