THE FORKS -- Rafting outfitters see little reason to fear high gas prices and a lower economy this year.

Cautiously upbeat after the best snowmobile season in at least three years, outfitters in The Forks area and Bingham say early bookings for the summer look positive.

On the negative side, their cost of business is rising they say. But after years of consolidation driven by flat or down demand, rafting offers good value specially to tourists from Europe and Canada who have the benefit of a relatively strong currency.

Clifford Stevens, owner of Moxie Outdoor Adventures in The Forks, said his early season bookings are up 10 to 15 percent from the previous two or three years.

Stevens said most of his customers are from the New England area, where Maine's white-water rivers are well known.

More of that core group may come for rafting and stay longer in lieu of other vacation alternatives farther afield, believes Stevens.

Others may come from much farther away for the first time,

German and British tourists have been showing up along the U.S. Route 201 corridor more in the last few years, said the rafting outfitter, and with an already weak dollar dropping still further, he said he expects that trend to continue.

One thing that will appeal to tourists of all nationalities is the value rafting offers, he said.

Stevens has been in the rafting business since 1983, and he said a trip down the Kennebec River doesn't cost much more now than it did then.

Russell Walters, president of Northern Outdoors in The Forks, said that while spring bookings have been good, he is not predicting a blockbuster season, but neither is he pessimistic.

"The jury is still out on gas prices and everything else," said Walters. "I think it is going to be a competitive season."

With little room to raise prices in a stagnant economy and costs increasing on all sides, Walters said this summer will be a time of belt tightening.

Still, Walters said that rafting has the advantage of offering value to people looking for excitement close to home.

"In the past, when we have had recessions or hard economic times, we have done pretty well because it is an affordable adventure," said Walters.

Families who don't have the disposable income to fly to Europe or Florida can still come to Maine and get a lot for their money, he said.

Even over the snowmobile season, Walters said he had British guests who had flown into Boston and then decided to try snowmobiling.

Walters said that while it is hard to market to Europeans, they are impressed with the wide open spaces in Maine once they get here.

While they are not a large part of his business, he said he believes it is a segment that has potential to grow.

"They are in awe of Maine when they arrive. They find it very affordable to travel here right now and very easy to get around, so I think we will see an increase," said Walters, himself from the United Kingdom.

Jim Murton, owner of North Country Rivers, said he has been building more cabins over the winter at his site in Bingham, but even with those additions his cabins are already booked up on some weekends this summer.

Generally speaking, Murton said demand for lodging and all-terrain vehicle trips is looking good, but he said inflation is also having an impact with food prices alone up about 30 percent from last year.

Murton said that roughly 60 to 75 percent of his customers come from the New England area, although that range is also expanding.

It may cost a lot to put fuel in your car, he said, but a trip to Maine still offers a lot of value, even if your family is driving from Pennsylvania.

That value and Maine's strong brand recognition will help outfitters during difficult economic times, he said.

Like Stevens and Walters, Murton also believes that more German, English and other European tourists will find their way to Maine, lured by vacations that are very affordable in their local currency.

Alan Crowell -- 474-9534, Ext. 342

acrowell@centralmaine.com