Everybody’s talking about “Nature Tourism” these days, but how can the Lakes Region attract a bigger share of that growing market?

Phil Savignano, senior tourism specialist at the Maine Office of Tourism will explain the state’s Nature-Based Tourism Initiative on Tuesday, March 13, 7:30 to 8:45 a.m., at the Route 302 Roadhouse Restaurant, West Bridgton. A free breakfast buffet begins at 7:30 a.m. and Savignano will speak from 8 to 8:45 a.m.

This “Eggs & Issues” event is free, open to the public and sponsored by the Lakes Environmental Association and the Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce. The free breakfast buffet is provided by the Maine Office of Tourism. Seating is limited so reserve today by e-mailing lakes@megalink.net or calling 647-8580.

At the Office of Tourism, Savignano helps develop outdoor recreation and ecotourism opportunities and infrastructure to attract people from around the world to Maine. Before joining the agency in 2005, Savignano spent 20 years working at L.L. Bean, including coordinating the Outdoor Discovery Schools program. He later ran the outdoor programs at Pineland Farms.

The state’s Nature-Based Tourism Initiative was laid out in a 2005 study by FERMATA, a Texas-based tourism consulting firm. The study’s goal was to bring more eco-tourists, especially those in the Baby Boomer generation, to rural, less-developed areas of the state, such as Down East, the north woods, and the western mountains. But to lure tourists away from the Maine coast and to lesser known areas of the state, the report said, communities need to provide amenities and to market natural places.

You can also sign up for another Eggs & Issues get-together, which was postponed because of the Feb. 14 snowstorm. On April 17, Alan Caron, president and founder of GrowSmart Maine, will speak about the Brookings Institution Report, which he calls “quite possibly the most comprehensive study of Maine ever undertaken,” and what it means for the Lakes Region. The event is from 7:30-8:45 a.m., at the Route 302 Roadhouse Restaurant, West Bridgton.