POLITICS

It's time to invest more in N.H. tourism
Bill looks to revamp state's park system and more

New Hampshire is extremely reliant on tourism as a source of both jobs for its citizens and revenue.

According to information from the state Bureau of Travel and Tourism, 68,000 jobs are directly tied to tourism and another 84,000 depend on tourists coming to the state. That makes tourism the state's second largest employer, behind retail, and ahead of health and business services.

The rooms and meals tax, an 8 percent tax on prepared foods and lodgings, accounted to $160 million in revenue in 2001.

Despite all that tourism brings to the state, New Hampshire ranks 40th in state spending in this area. Gov. John Lynch's proposed budget for fiscal year 2008-09 allocates $5.73 million to the bureau in the first year and just $27,000 more in 2009.

Tourism in New Hampshire revolves around outdoor activities and visits to historic locations. Much in both these categories is located here in the Seacoast region of the state.

In 2005, it was noted by the Legislature that many of the state's parks and historic locations were quickly deteriorating and that the historic approach of the Division of State Parks and Recreation being a self-funded operation simply was not working. A study committee was formed and a report was issued the following year that contained a series of recommendations for determining the needs of these facilities and securing funding to meet those needs.

The first steps in that process is presented this legislative session in Senate Bill 74, which passed the Senate on March 22 and is now being reviewed by the House Resources, Recreation and Development Committee. The House committee is scheduled to give its opinion of the bill by May 31.

SB 74 establishes a Bureau of Historic Sites within the Division of Parks and Recreation, revises the state park system's development plan, requires an audit of the Division of Parks and Recreation, and establishes a state park system advisory council and a legislative oversight committee. Local sponsors of the bill include Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth, Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, as well as the chairman of the study committee, Sen. John Gallus, R-Berlin.

According to a fiscal note on the bill prepared by the Department of Resources and Economic Development, passage of the legislation would cost the state approximately $2.3 million in 2008. The major portion of that amount — $2 million — is the estimated cost of developing a master plan for the approximately 72 parks and historic sites in the state's inventory. The remainder is necessary to staff the Bureau of Historic Sites the bill would create.

Former House Majority Leader Mike O'Neil, R-Hampton, who was a member of the parks study committee, put passage of this legislation by the House at 50-50 when questioned by Jack Kenney of the New Hampshire Business Review in September 2006.

"I think the recommendation will go forward, but it probably couldn't have come at a worse time, given that we have education funding to deal with," O'Neil told Kenney.

However, study committee members hope the Legislature will see the wisdom of making this initial investment in order to reap future rewards. Along with the cost associated with SB 74, the committee recommended the state bond $10 million for immediate repairs to park facilities, including $5.5 million to refurbish the Hampton Beach Sea Shell stage.

In addition, the study committee noted the Division of Parks and Recreation had never made a concerted effort to get private funding for the system. It is an area that particularly troubled Hassan.

"I'm surprised we don't have a private entity to help us in some way," the senator told Kenney in 2006 after the report was issued. "It's the perfect opportunity for partnership in a state where we pride ourselves on our charitable giving."

Whatever the cost and methods used, when every estimate the state has indicates that for every $1 in investment in tourism the state gets $9 in return, the need to maintain the primary tourist destinations — state parks and historic sites — is obvious.

In a state where balancing the budget often depends on how many sunny days there are in the summer, the number of inches of snow that falls in the winter and how colorful the fall foliage is, investment in tourism is a no-brainer.

Shir Haberman is the business and political writer at the Portsmouth Herald. He can be reached at shaberman@seacoastonline.com