BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) – The arrival of the first large cruise ship in two-and-a-half years in another signal that Maine’s tourism is getting closer to pre-pandemic normalcy.
State officials said more than 15.6 million visitors came to Maine in 2021, which represented growth over the year before.
But there were no large cruise ships until the arrival of the Norwegian Pearl in the waters off Bar Harbor this weekend.
Cruise ships made 409 port calls and brought 450,000 passengers in 2019.
One positive sign from the 2021 tourism numbers is that spending soared. Spending grew 63.7% from 2020 and 20.3% from 2019.
