When Your Scribe is hunkered down at the cabin, I don't think much about "tourism." To wit, I don't rent motels much anymore and I know the places I want to visit or dine at because I have traversed the state for years. Above is one of the most picturesque scenes in upcountry Maine, Rangeley Lake.

But I recently saw some statistics about tourism in Maine, and it made me think how important it is to every stakeholder in the state. Today it's difficult to make money in traditional careers like commercial fishing and lumbering. So the future of the state, if you want to work here, is tied into tourism - and its wealthier cousin, recreational real estate. (An aside: I know that I am not the first to form this conclusion, seeing that a major study on this very topic was released a couple years ago).

Anyway, here are some facts to think about as Tourist Season is about to start. They are state stats, from 2004, the most recent that are readily available. I imagine the numbers will be about the same this year.

About 8.9 million overnight trips were taken in Maine that year, with an additional 34.7 million day trips. Travel in July, August and September accounts for 52 percent of overnight tourist trips, with April, May and June accounting for 25 percent of overnights. October, November and December registered 16 percent, while January, February and March accounted for 8 percent of overnight trips. (The numbers must have been rounded upward, if you just did the math).

Of the overnight visitors, 32 percent came to "tour" the state. About 20 percent traveled here to enjoy the outdoors, while 14 percent came for beach vacations (I would think that would be higher, except the ocean is so blessed cold). About 11 percent came for a special event. (The "other" category is pretty large).

In a given year, the state collects $294 million in sales tax from domestic tourism; about $149 million in personal income tax and $88 million in gasoline tax (we'll see how that one plays out this year). That's $531 million!

There are bigger numbers, too: domestic visitors to Maine generate $13.6 billion in sales of goods and services; 176,000 jobs; and $3.8 billion in payroll.

As the nation enters a recession and Maine struggles to find jobs to replace fishing, wood-processing and manufacturing, you'd like to think that tourists will continue to be good for the economy as long as the year-rounders are good to the land and water.

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