For State's Tourism Industry, It Was a Year of Fickle Seasons ; Tourism: Rain and Gas Prices Didn't Help a Lackluster Year.

Summary

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The weather gods were toying with Maine: A cold and rainy June discouraged people from coming north during the beginning edge of the traditional tourist season, what tourism promoters call the "shoulder season."

Then, at the time of year when so many tourists typically come to Maine to see the foliage, the rainiest October on record dislocated the other shoulder.

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Extract

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For State's Tourism Industry, It Was a Year of Fickle Seasons ; Tourism: Rain and Gas Prices Didn't Help a Lackluster Year.

July, August and September were warm and sunny here, but Hurricane Katrina hit the oil refineries in the Gulf Coast and already rising gas prices soared to all-time highs of more than $3 a gallon at the end of August.

And yet, the people who keep track of such things - those who run the inns and restaurants, and those who collect the taxes - can't agree on how much th...

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