AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development and Maine Office of Tourism announced Wednesday that Maine’s 2019 Governor’s Conference on Tourism will be held in Augusta on April 9 and 10. This year’s program of speakers including Governor Janet Mills, workshops and breakout sessions will address critical issues for the future growth of Maine tourism, with a focus on skills-building, collaborative efforts, and tactics for expanding awareness of Maine as a leading destination.

“Maine’s tourism industry plays a critical role in supporting our state’s economy and our quality of life,” said Governor Mills. “By showcasing Maine’s beauty to visitors from around the world, our tourism industry helps build our state’s brand and ensures that people, regardless of where they live, know that Maine is an extraordinary place to visit, live, and work.”

The 2019 conference theme references the Maine Office of Tourism’s new Five-Year Strategic Plan for 2019-2024, which will be introduced at the conference.

The two-day conference will open with an afternoon of information sessions and skills-building workshops, using Augusta as the conference campus with workshops at a variety of downtown locations, in addition to the conference home at the Augusta Civic Center. The evening Opening Reception will be hosted by the Maine Tourism Association, and will take place at the Governor Hill Mansion. The reception will double as the Maine Tourism Association Annual Meeting, but all conference attendees are invited.

Day one sessions will include a forum to discuss Maine’s outdoor recreation economy, and a meeting to share information about the Maine Motorcoach Network. Afternoon skills-building workshops will offer “how-to” instruction for Google Rankings /SEO, Instagram, Strategic Planning, Destination Development, an update on plans for Maine’s Bicentennial in 2020 and information regarding state-wide efforts.

On Day two, in addition to a presentation of the new Maine Office of Tourism Five-Year Strategic Plan, the conference agenda will include the Maine Office of Tourism 2018 report, a roll-out of Maine’s 2019 tourism marketing campaign, and the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism awards luncheon.

Governor Janet T. Mills will address the conference attendees during the awards luncheon and present awards.

The afternoon keynote by Scott Stratten, "The Age of Disruption: Everything Has Changed and Nothing Is Different" will focus on trends in marketing and social media. Stratten is the author of five best-selling business books, with the newest being “UnBranding: 100 Branding Lessons In The Age Of Disruption”. A prolific and entertaining speaker, he was recently inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame.

Morning and afternoon breakout sessions will feature insights from Maine businesses that are successfully collaborating to elevate and personalize the experience they provide; a presentation on how destinations can use mobile marketing to attract visitors once they are here; information on how to work with the international market; and techniques to avoid the pressures and costs of overcrowding at popular destinations and increase the positive impacts of tourism across the state.

“Our goal is not only to promote Maine to visitors from outside of the state, but also to support the development of Maine’s tourism industry,” said Steve Lyons, director of the Maine Office of Tourism. “The learning opportunities at the annual conference, whether technical skills-building workshops, reporting on trends, or sharing best practices within the industry, all give Maine’s tourism industry tools and ideas they can apply to their own businesses and use to grow.”

Maine’s annual tourism conference brings together approximately 400 industry businesses, organizations and stakeholders from across the state each year for an exchange of ideas and best practices to help build one of Maine’s most vital and valuable industries.

More information and registration is available at www.MaineTourismConference.com