Acadia TikTok Sums Up A Big Mood For Tourism During COVID [NSFW]
First, I know some keyboard warriors will be hot to trot about the pandemic not being a big deal and we should be encouraging tourism and yadda yadda yadda...ok cool I saved you some time.
Here's the thing, while tourism is INCREDIBLY important to the state's economy many of us Mainers do get annoyed with tourists. The way they drive, how they crowd the areas we want to visit, tie up Route 1, etc. It's just something we, as a people, tend to do. There's usually no real disdain but we complain about tourists like we complain about the weather.
That annoyance with the out-of-staters is increased when we're bombarded with rules to social distance and for travelers to quarantine for two weeks. Add on the thought of someone vacationing in Acadia and getting Grandma sick while shopping at Hannaford, we can get a bit testy.
According to the Portland Press Herald this week, Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor released a statement warning that at least 35 out of state tourists have visited the area with COVID-19. That's quite a large number considering Maine's overall low numbers, especially in that part of the state.
TikToker, @even_message took Blackbear's song Hot Girl Bummer and coupled it with a shot of a bunch of the cars at Acadia. Spoiler alert: Only one vehicle is from Maine.
Warning: NSFW Language
@even_message caronavirus who? But, for real didn't see one other ##Maine plate the entire day.♀️ ##mainecheck ##acadianationalpark ##fyp ##getoutside
I'm not saying I know a way to get around the risk of having tourists, or that what we're already going isn't plenty. I'm just saying, even without the virus, I get this mood!