ACT MTMPP Midterm Grant Report | Final | July 1 , 2024 through December 31 , 2024
Reporting Period : July 1 , 2024 through December 31 , 2024
Aroostook County Tourism ( ACT ) is the Destination Marketing Organization of Maine ’ s Aroostook County as designated by the Maine Office of Tourism ( MOT ). Here , four seasons of recreation along fantastic networks of trails provide both adventure and relaxation to visitors experiencing the quiet side of Maine . June of 2024 is a time when ACT was caught in the middle of three major projects that affected our brand and how visitors move through information for inspiration and tools to plan a great trip .
A season of change brings much anticipation and excitement , but change takes time .
Delays can be expected when quality work is the goal we are after . The Official Travel Planner was three months past due and distribution channels were disrupted to our partners and fulfillment services . The second project , www . visitaroostook . com , was seven months past the estimated project launch which caused disruptions in paid advertising and reduced time for other critical later summer and fall advertising . It was not responsible to continue to use our Always On Marketing ( Facebook , Instagram , Pinterest , Google Search , Google Display ) while the website project was transferring to a new design and existing content was reformatted to the new framework . The final project is the regional map project now eight months overdue . With delays in work , disruptions in other projects can be expected . ACT is confident in the work being done on these three projects and with the selected contractor as quality is what we seek with these three foundational projects .
The sentiment for travel to Aroostook County remains high with many testimonials of wonderful visits and experiences being captured with # VisitAroostook on major social media platforms . The industry here is facing challenges with an extremely mild winter in 2024 , the closure of a major biathlon center , and competition from other regions in the summer months . The industry is hungry and ACT is working to fuel their need for data , research , creativity , and ideas . The ACT Board of Directors has focused on increasing stakeholder engagement and we realize more resources must be allocated to facilitate business growth , recreation expansion , and connecting existing organizations with existing tools .
There is much to be excited about at the Top of New England and much pride to share for this place . New developments in motorcross have taken place in the last year as well as race leagues , events and municipalities are further refining themselves with the experience learned from the Maine Eclipse .