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Stacie Melanson serves Bill and Sandy Vorra, their son Will, Betty and Ron Helvig and their son Nick at the Sudbury Inn last week. The families from Mystic, Conn., were visiting Bethel for a weekend of skiing.

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Scott Davis, the Sudbury Inn’s new owner, is optimistic about the summer. With him is inn mascot “Pockets.”

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The Kloepping family, Dennis, Karolyn and their son Kyle, head off to the ski slopes from their rooms at Bethel’s Sudbury Inn. The family was vacationing from their home in Upton, Mass.

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A skier carves at Sunday River resort in Newry, near Bethel. Winter tourism was strong this year despite the slowdown.

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A beach in Range Pond State Park in Poland. A good summer season could dull a bad economy’s impact in Maine.

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FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY

THERE HAS BEEN a substantial increase in bankruptcy filings during the past year in Maine as inflation, the economic slowdown and rising home foreclosures have taken their toll.

THERE ARE SIX types of bankruptcies. The most common for individuals are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.

CHAPTER 7: Debtors surrender their property to a bankruptcy trustee, who then liquidates the property and distributes the proceeds to the debtors' unsecured creditors.

CHAPTER 13: Debtors retain ownership of their assets but must devote a portion of their future income to repaying creditors. It is also called "a wage earner's plan" because it enables individuals with regular income to develop a plan to repay all or part of their debts.

CHAPTER 9: For municipalities.

CHAPTER 11: Primarily for business debtors to help them reorganize.

CHAPTER 12: Geared for family farmers and fishermen.

CHAPTER 15: Intended for dealing with insolvency cases involving debtors, assets or claimants involving more than one country.

Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

TOURISM'S IMPACT ON THE MAINE ECONOMY – 2006

FALLING BEHIND: MAINERS COPE WITH THE SLOWDOWN

SUNDAY: Inflation in basic commodities of life – especially food and fuel – is squeezing many family budgets dry.

MONDAY: Mainers are falling behind on paying their car loans, utilities and credit card bills.

TUESDAY: Foreclosure and mortgage delinquency rates have hit record levels in Maine.

WEDNESDAY: Small businesses are finding that Mainers don't think this is the time to be opening their wallets, and that has implications for the broader economy.

THURSDAY: Some individuals and groups are finding a silver lining in the slowdown.

TODAY: The next few months – as Maine enters its crucial summer tourism season – will reveal just how big an impact the economic climate has on jobs and overall economic activity.

— The last of six parts

This winter has been outstanding for tourism, even as the economy stalls.

Ski resorts have been open and packed since December. Snowmobiles have buzzed across Maine's vast network of trails. People have enjoyed the season on cross-country skis, snowshoes, skates and sleds.

Now the question arises: How is the summer tourism season shaping up, and what implications does that hold for the broader economy?

It's an important question.

Tourism is Maine's single largest sector. In 2006, tourists spent $6.7 billion in Maine. Directly and indirectly, that supported 176,633 jobs, generated $3.8 billion in wages and produced more than $531 million in tax revenues.

A strong summer showing could help alleviate the impact of the broader economic slowdown at a time when many analysts and economists see troubling signs.

A big concern nationally is that credit will grow tighter, choking economic growth. And although payrolls have held up in Maine so far, the country lost 63,000 jobs in February. Layoffs are an indicator of recessions, which are periods of extended negative economic growth such as the one that most economists believe exists right now.

Maine's Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission has cut its forecast for personal income growth in 2008 and predicts no increase in the number of jobs this year.

Maine leads the nation in people working multiple jobs – commonly called "under-employed" – noted John Mahon, dean of the University of Maine's College of Business, Public Policy and Health. Such workers can be vulnerable in a downturn.

"The multi-part-time job holders are often the first to lose their jobs – an employer forced to reduce the work force generally lets part-time folks go to hold on to full-time employees," Mahon said. "But if part-time employees get no benefits, then there will be a temptation to let full-time individuals go and/or convert full-time jobs to part-time positions."

Economic woes aside, a successful summer season is largely dependent on good weather.

A weak summer tourism season would add to the problem – less tax revenue for the state, fewer people from away spending money here, and possible job cuts. At least one economist who studies the sector isn't optimistic. Still, tourism-related business owners say they're seeing positive signs.

MORE SUMMER DRAWS IN BETHEL

Scott Davis bought the Sudbury Inn in Bethel in January, and has been busy.

"It's been hard-charging since Jan. 3," said Davis. "It doesn't seem to be slowing down going into the summer months."

Bethel is central to some of the region's prime skiing. People travel through on their way to Sunday River, Wildcat, Mt. Abram and other hills – often staying in the town, hitting restaurants and pubs, or spending money at the various shops.

Bethel is about a 90-minute drive from Portland, about three hours from Boston and seven hours from New York City.

In the winter, the draw of skiing is obvious. But in summer, the Bethel region wouldn't be seen as such an obvious attraction for tourists as, say, Old Orchard Beach, or Wells, or the York beaches.

Davis said he and other business owners he's polled are optimistic about Bethel's increasingly compelling summer tourism season. The area is growing as a fishing destination, he said, and people are calling now about the summer, and to book venues for weddings.

Boyne USA Resorts, which bought Sunday River last year, is developing the ski resort into a four-season venue, said Davis. There's already a golf course there, and Sunday River reopened trails for mountain biking last fall.

"They haven't fully announced their plans going forward, but they are talking about aggressively developing the area," said Davis. "They've indicated to their employees that in the future, they won't have to...