Rangeley Maine

Community Destination Academy

Many areas in the Maine Woods have traditions and economies built on outdoor recreation and tourism. Many also have high potential to increase their appeal to visitors and secure related economic rewards.

To help these areas increase their appeal as destinations, the Center worked with the Maine Office of Tourism and partners in the Maine Woods Consortium to develop the Community Destination Academy. The Academy combines professionally led workshops and training with financial and technical assistance to help communities strengthen the amenities and services that attract visitors – and visitor spending.

The program helps rural destinations move beyond marketing to focus on visitor interests and providing a seamless, service-oriented experience from lodging and dining to outdoor recreation, cultural events, and shopping. While the program is grounded in the tourism and recreation economy, the approach supports amenities that contribute to local quality of life and help attract new residents and businesses.

Modeled on Oregon’s successful Rural Tourism Studio program, the Community Destination Academy is built around four goals:

Develop working leadership cohorts in high potential Rural Destination Areas.
Build a common set of skills and knowledge for long-term sustainable destination development.
Support implementation of local development projects identified by program participants.
Build a track record of collaborative project implementation as a foundation for ongoing product development and marketing.

The Northern Forest Rural Tourism Academy serves northern New Hampshire and Vermont.

Benefits for Communities and Economy

The program began in the Moosehead Lake region in 2018, and is expanding to serve other locations. Each community brings a different set of interests and priorities to the program, and the Community Destination Academy’s approach enables participants to get to work on real projects that will benefit their community.

The Academy has led to projects such as rebuilding a downtown boardwalk along Moosehead Lake, implementing a new regional wayfinding system in the Rangeley Lakes area, and a creating a broad-based sustainable tourism strategy to address potential over-use issues in the Bethel-Mahoosuc region.

Most importantly, the program is building new teams of business, municipal, and non-profit leaders and providing them with the training and resources to advance new strategies to meet the changing needs and interests of regional, national, and global travelers.

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Staff Contacts

Mike Wilson

Senior Program Director

Cell: 603-731-0558

Amy Scott

Program Manager

Cell: 207-357-3189

Academies Across the Region