Old Orchard Beach, Maine, businesses are heading into the Memorial Day stretch expecting a quieter influx of Canadian visitors than in past years, while they also brace for the broader drag of high fuel and food costs. As Carol Bousquet reported from the beach town, innkeepers and campground managers described how their bookings reflect both strained U.S.-Canada relations and cost pressure on travelers.
In interviews in the seaside community, the town manager, operators at beachfront lodging, and leaders in the state’s hospitality industry pointed to continuing “chilly relations with the U.S.” as a factor weighing on Canadian interest. Diana Asanza, the town manager, said the town’s nighttime scene and coastal setting are part of what makes it feel like summer as soon as visitors arrive.
At the Edgewater and nearby Kebek 3 hotels, Pierre Janelle and front desk agent Caley Mackenzie reviewed current reservations and said the week’s figures remained strong from some customer segments. Mackenzie told NPR that the Edgewater was expected to be 97% full and that Kebek 3 was at 88% full on Saturday, as staff checked the computer for how the early season is taking shape.
Janelle said the pattern is different for Canadians. He told NPR that Canadians’ bookings are down to 13% from 20% since President Donald Trump took office, adding that Trump’s rhetoric about Canada becoming the “51st state” has “insulted many Canadians.” Janelle also warned that if one market shrinks while another does not expand to replace it, the beach properties may stay afloat while the town as a whole loses out, because “not everybody benefits equally.”
Becki Jacobson, executive director of HospitalityMaine, described the market’s uncertainty in economic terms, linking the slower booking pace to a mix of factors including gas prices, food prices, and overall world and economy uncertainty. She said “a lot of uncertainty” is making the pinch felt by everyone, and that some smaller hospitality properties are being hit “a little harder” when bookings slow.
Mandi Cote, who manages the Old Orchard Beach campground, said Canadians are still staying away. She told NPR that the campground responded by targeting its marketing to other regions while also tracking its own booking momentum. Cote said reservations for the year are trending up compared to last year at the same time, and she described a more optimistic outlook for the 2026 season.
Cote said she represented the campground at a trade show in Montreal earlier this year and that Canadians told her they would not return until Trump is out of office. She said the campground plans to expand as well, adding another 100 sites next year, even as fuel costs may steer some travelers toward different trip styles.
In an effort to identify a possible counterbalance, Janelle suggested that the high cost of getting to destinations by air could make driving vacations more accessible. He pointed to “the scarcity of jet fuel” and said that cost increases for airline tickets make a drive to the coast a more reachable option, while also tying the impact to weather-driven decision-making that can turn weekend plans quickly.
As the town prepares for the summer crowd, Asanza said the experience of coming into Old Orchard Beach is distinct. “Seeing the lights at night, I mean, when you’re driving up into Old Orchard Beach and you see that, it is something,” she said. “It really is. It’s so different from anywhere else around here, and it’s kind of fun to be, you know, in the middle of that, and it’s summer. You definitely know it’s summer.”
(For NPR News, this report was filed by Carol Bousquet in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.)