GOVERNOR O’MALLEY ANNOUNCES THAT MARYLAND
TOURISM IS ON THE RISE
2009 Tourism Annual Report Provides Positive Outlook
BALTIMORE (Dec 8, 2009) – Governor Martin O’Malley announced that tourism in Maryland is on the rise, with a 3.2 percent increase in spending from out-of-state visitors to the State. The Governor cited the results of a study released today by the Maryland Office of Tourism Development, an agency of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.
“As ‘America in Miniature,’ Maryland offers so much for visitors to enjoy,” said Governor O’Malley. “Tourism and hospitality is the fourth largest industry in the State and is vital to our economic growth – including creating jobs, tax revenue and business income. Small and family-owned enterprises make up 95 percent of tourism-related businesses. The tourism industry and its employees are keys to how we’re going to turn the corner from recession to recovery to prosperity.”
The report showed that visitors to Maryland spent $14.5 billion on travel expenses in 2008. Transportation and food account for the largest share of visitor spending, followed by shopping, lodging and entertainment. The report also showed that tourism supports 146,228 direct full-time equivalency jobs in 2008 in leisure and hospitality, retail, transportation and other service sectors. These jobs provided $4 billion in wages and salaries in 2008.This year’s report cites a recently released Global Insight 2008 Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), a methodology which is endorsed by the U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism Industries and the World Tourism Organization.
While the results of a Tourism Satellite Account are only available on an annual basis, many performance metrics—including The Tourism Promotion Act and tourism tax codes, are available on a more frequent basis. The Comptroller reported that the formula utilized in the Tourism Promotion Act generated $291.3 million in state sales tax revenues in FY09. In FY09, the State invested $9.7 million in general funds for the Office of Tourism/Maryland Tourism Development Board’s combined budgets. That’s a return of $30 for every state dollar invested in tourism funding.
Recognizing the importance of more timely information, the Office of Tourism launched an electronic Tourism Monitor last year, reporting tourism trends and key performance metrics on a monthly basis. Included in the annual report is a year-end recap of the Tourism Monitor, including the metrics tracked in the Department of Budget & Management’s Managing for Results (MFR) program and the StateStat performance reporting system.
Key highlights from the Tourism Monitor:
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300,000 more unique web users experienced VisitMaryland.org in FY2009 compared to FY2008.
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Public relations activities generated more than $6.5 million in advertising value for Maryland tourism products and services, an increase of more than 53 percent over the prior year.
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Two counties – Prince George’s and Charles – enhanced their tourism revenues during 2008 by 16.6 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.
“One of OTD’s key goals is to influence prospective visitors in targeted markets to plan a trip to Maryland,” said Margot Amelia, Executive Director for the Maryland Office of Tourism. “We develop marketing activities with the objective of increasing web visits and quality leads from potential visitors.”
To learn more about Maryland’s tourism industry, go to vistimaryland.org.
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