What DART Does

DownEast Acadia Regional Tourism provides the following services for the entire region:

Support for Local/Regional Initiatives

  • DART supports regionally and locally significant efforts through its annual Marketing and Promotion Partnership Program with the Maine Office of Tourism.
  • DART provides a regional voice to the Maine Office of Tourism, Maine Tourism Association and other state or private efforts affecting the region.
  • DART partners with other organizations to bring state, federal, and non-profit funding, technical assistance, and other resources to the region.

Training and Professional Development

  • DART collaborates with Maine Office of Tourism, Maine Woods Consortium, Sunrise County Economic Council, and others on tourism-related trainings and Destination Development.
  • DART hosts an Annual Tourism Symposium And Awards Luncheon for networking and professional development.  The Symposium is held in a different location each year, and each year’s theme focuses specifically on the best assets and stories of the host community

True Maine Visitor Guide

  • DART publishes and distributes an annual Visitor Guide for DownEast Acadia which promotes “True Maine” at its finest. 30,000 copies are printed annually, and a digital copy is accessible on DownEastAcadia.com.
  • “True Maine” Visitor Guides are sent to potential visitors upon request, and each Chamber within the region receives a list of visitor information requests to fulfill.
  • DART guides are distributed at all Maine State visitor centers, at AAA offices and visitor information centers throughout the mid-Atlantic states,  at national and Canadian travel shows by Maine Office of Tourism, at local Chambers of Commerce, and at local businesses and public offices.

Travel Show Participation

  • DART sends 2 volunteer campground owners to the Maine RV and Camping Show in Auburn each spring.
  • DART visitor guides are distributed by the Maine Office of Tourism at approximately 8 national and Canadian travel shows annually.

Free Marketing Opportunities for Area Businesses/Event Organizers

  • Businesses and events can post their information free of charge on both the DownEastAcadia.com and Maine Office of Tourism websites

Cooperative Advertising 

  • DART purchases a DownEast Acadia section in Maine Invites You, the state Visitor Guide sent out by the Maine Office of Tourism (300,000 copies distributed annually)
  • DART also hosts an advertising coop and offers a subsidy to each Member Organization that purchases a sub-regional cooperative page in Maine Invites You

Print Advertising

  • DART promotes the regional experience in print publications. In FY 2022, DART published print ads in Maine Invites You, Global Heroes, Experience Maine Summer (Bangor Daily), and East Coast Traveller.  FY 2021 included Adventure Cycling. 

Digital Advertising

  • DART contracts with Thalo Blue for digital promotion; this will continue in FY23. FY22 digital promotes the 2022 visitor guide, April through July 2022.  Geographic targets areas are Boston, Connecticut, and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada.  Digital Channels include Google and Microsoft. 
  • In FY22, DART also purchased digital advertising on websites and social media through Maine Public, ME Camping, Global Heroes, ROVA, Adventure Cycling, New England Traveler.

Broadcast Advertising

  • DART purchases broadcast advertising on Maine Public Radio all year round to promote regional assets and events

Social Media & E-Newsletters

  • DART is active on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. FY22 Facebook campaigns (July 1 through May 31) resulted in an increase of 1,423 total page likes (669 during March-May 2022).
  • DART produces an E-Newsletter that is sent to an average of 14,000 potential visitors annually who express interest in the region via DiscoverDownEastAcadia.com.  Each newsletter highlights sub-regions, seasons, activities, and experiences. 

Photo & Video Procurement

  • DART contracts with local artists to create photography and video content that highlights special assets and special initiatives throughout the region.
  • DART has been developing video content for several years – shorts (15-30 seconds) to promote events and activities on social media and in E-newsletters, and longer videos (1-3 minutes) to promote the regional experience and highlight “makers and doers” behind the scenes. DART has worked with different videographers to capture different perspectives that appeal to different audiences. 

Research and Analysis