BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 23, 2025
With the unofficial start of Bar Harbor’s tourism season just days away, local business owners are apprehensive about what 2025 might bring. The scenic seaside town on Mount Desert Island, which serves as a gateway to Acadia National Park, has attracted seasonal visitors for more than a century but this year is expected to present myriad challenges for the businesses and organizations that cater to tourists. President Donald Trump’s bellicose diplomacy could deter foreign tourists from coming, and his administration’s efforts to sharply reduce the federal budget could mean that more jobs at Acadia go unfilled — an obstacle that in recent years has also been caused by a lack of affordable housing in the area. But while those potential hurdles have yet to play out, one thing is for sure: there will be far fewer cruise ship visits in Bar Harbor this year than usual.