N orthern New England's fall foliage is expected to be spectacular this year, unlike tourism revenues, which likely will remain muted as the economy slowly recovers.

Abundant rain during the summer should boost the vibrancy of the red, orange and gold foliage that attracts millions of visitors to New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont each fall. That has tourism officials optimistic, though no one's expecting to break any records. They're offering a variety of packages and deals in hopes of matching or beating last year's revenues, which were down significantly from previous years as recession gripped the nation.

In Vermont, more than 60 lodging properties, tourist attractions and restaurants are offering tourists with midweek bookings "Midweek Peek" deals ranging from "stay two nights, get the third night free" to a free round of golf or half pint of maple syrup.

Dozens of properties in Maine are offering similar getaway packages during foliage season.

In New Hampshire, the state tourism website lists "Yankee Dollar-Stretching Deals," and individual properties have their own promotions. Whitney's Inn in Jackson is offering a third night at half price or a free fourth night. The listed rate for late September until mid-October is $129 per night for a standard room for two people.

Innkeeper Susan Pettengill said the inn is in good shape for foliage season - all but six of the 26 rooms are booked for the busy Columbus Day weekend - but acknowledged

the toll the economy has taken.

"We've had to lower our rates, and people are very comfortable asking for discounts," she said.

New Hampshire had 7.5 million visitors who spent about $1 billion between September and November last year, and officials expect to roughly match that this year. The most recent data from Vermont shows 3.7 million visitors spent $375 million in fall 2007.

Revenue figures weren't available for Maine - which had 9.2 million visitors last fall - but some property managers have been reporting that reservations are about equal to or slightly higher than last fall, said Greg Dugal, executive director of the Maine Innkeepers Association. Though he welcomes such news, he points out that lodging revenues were down more than 10 percent last September and 3 percent in October, when the the nation's financial meltdown kept many potential visitors away.

Revenue was also down in June and July, Dugal said, in large part because of the rain. In New Hampshire, more people visited the state this summer but they spent less, said Tai Freligh, spokesman for the state's travel and tourism division, and more of the same is expected for fall, he said. The state continues to advertise in key markets like Philadelphia, Boston and New York, but since summer has been focusing more on New Hampshire residents, he said.

"Folks are taking more trips and making them shorter, and spending less when they do travel. They are staying closer to home," he said.

That's Chris Cavallari's plan. Cavallari, 30, owns a video production company in Portland, Maine, but a retail job pays the bills. So instead of taking a week off to visit his brother in Arizona or vacation in Florida, he's taking more short trips, closer to home.

"A three-day weekend here, a four-day backpacking trip there, and I get more bang for my buck," he said.

He is considering backpacking in western Maine or New Hampshire's White Mountains, a road trip up Maine's Coastal Route 1, a bike tour in Maine or kayaking along the Maine coast. Whatever he decides, he hopes to keep his expenses under $100 for a four-day trip.

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