Sununu slams media coverage of holiday weekend crowds

Oct. 16—Gov. Chris Sununu angrily denounced some media coverage over the Columbus Day weekend that he charged left the impression that the state was unable to safely handle the heavy influx of leaf peepers.

"New Hampshire is a tourism state, bring us your crowds, we can handle it," Sununu told reporters after the Executive Council meeting at the Church Landing resort in Meredith overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee.

"Were the trails crowded? Absolutely, it is one of the best weekends we have here as a state. The businesses in the North Country, this is their livelihood. They live and die by these weekends. Don't give the impression that we aren't equipped to deal with as many tourists here."

The outgoing, four-term governor was especially displeased with a WMUR-TV story that highlighted large crowds on Artist's Bluff Loop Trailhead, a 1.5-mile trail that overlooks Echo Lake and Cannon Mountain in Franconia and then combined that with a report about Fish and Game rescues of hikers in the mountains.

"We did have search and rescues that had nothing to do with the crowds, they were two. completely unrelated things," Sununu said.

Sununu said the image of the large crowd on the overlook had been trending on Instagram over the weekend.

"We can use this to message the fact there are hundreds of great trails to hike on and watch the foliage from, you don't have to be on that one trail that's getting all the clicks," Sununu said.

Earlier Wednesday, Business and Economics Affairs Commissioner Taylor Caswell gave the council a briefing on the fall foliage season and the outlook for the winter.

"I'd also say let's stop with the doomsday reporting that snow may be coming. This is New Hampshire, we're a four-season state, we love the snow and people up here are pretty well-schooled on how to safely enjoy it," Sununu said.

Prior to first winning election as governor in 2016, Sununu had been general manager of Waterville Valley (ski) Resort.

Sununu said New Hampshire became even a more popular destination for outdoor recreation for working families looking for an outlet after they had been cooped up inside for months during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Some other states haven't put the emphasis on tourism that we have and once tourists stop coming then that's a huge hole you need to dig out of," Sununu said.

"Tourism makes up about 10% of our GDP (gross domestic product), bigger than anything else except health care."

State park officials have asked and a legislative budget oversight panel has rejected a proposal to charge for parking during the foliage season in state-owned lots to manage parking in the Crawford Notch area.

Sununu said during COVID-19 there were some "new visitors" to the state who didn't always follow the rules, parking illegally along the highway right-of-way and leaving piles of trash along the roadside.

"The Legislature will decide what fees should or shouldn't be charged but I think better communication and messaging is often the solution when it comes to these management issues," Sununu said.

"We're the Live Free or Die state. We welcome you coming here and want your experience to be the best it can be."

Also Wednesday, Sununu nominated Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Michelle Cruz of Conway to become the next director of travel and tourism development.

Last month, longtime Director Lori Harnois announced her retirement from the post, having served in the role for two different periods, coming back to state government to assist the industry in its recovery from the pandemic.

Caswell said under Cruz's leadership, this region has seen a massive increase in four-season tourism.