Every geographical region has its depressed area (s) and Laconia happens to be the NH Lakes Region's blighted area. Laconia is also the only major city on the lake and with that comes a large and generally less wealthy population of year round residents. As a result, city government has many issues to contend with and tourism tends to take a back seat. The other population centers on the lake are small towns whose economics are largely driven by second home owners and in these areas tourisim tends to be front and center when it comes to importance. Given these dynamics, I expect Laconia will fall further before it experiences any turnaround. And a significant turnaround is likely years away.
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