MEDIA CONTACTS:
Destination Profile
LOCATION
• Adjacent to Washington, D.C.
• Midway down the Atlantic Seaboard
• Approximately 200 miles south of New York City
• Approximately 40 miles south of Philadelphia
• Approximately 500 miles north of Atlanta
ACCESSIBILITY
• 48 air carriers (passenger, commuter, cargo, & charter) servicing Baltimore/Washington International Airport providing flights to more than 63 domestic and 10 overseas cities
• Domestic, international and commuter air services
• BWI Airport is 25 minutes from downtown Baltimore, 40 minutes from downtown Washington
• Rail, bus and shuttle links to Baltimore and Washington from BWI
• Amtrak rail service from Baltimore and Washington
• Major highways include:
I-95 (north/south from Maine to Florida)
I-81 (north/south from Canada)
I-83 (north/south from Baltimore to Pennsylvania)
I-70 (east/west from Baltimore to Western Maryland)
I-68 (east/west from Western Maryland to West Virginia)
• Public bus transportation in greater Baltimore and Washington areas
• Metro subway system from Maryland suburbs into Washington
• Metro subway system from downtown Baltimore to northwest suburbs
• Light-rail system in Baltimore City and Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties
• Taxi service in Baltimore, Annapolis, Columbia and the suburbs of Washington
ACCOMMODATIONS AND RESTAURANTS (STATEWIDE)
• More than 60,000 hotel and motel rooms
• Approximately 275 bed & breakfasts and country inns
• Close to 2,000 modern campsites in state parks and forests; 6,625 in private campgrounds
• More than 8,683 restaurants
TOURISM FACTS*
• Maryland welcomed 21 million visitors in 2004
• Tourism generated $813 billion in Maryland in 2004
• More than 115,000 Marylanders are employed in the travel industry
• 77% of Maryland’s visitors arrive by car, 14% arrive by plane
* Based on research by the Travel Industry of America and TravelScope
CLIMATE
• Normal January temperatures range from 24 to 41 degrees
• Normal July temperatures range from 65 to 87 degrees
• Average annual precipitation: 42 inches
GEOGRAPHY
• 42nd in size of the 50 states
• 9,844 square miles of land
• 623.35 square miles of inland water
• 31 miles of Atlantic Ocean coast, including Assateague Island
• Almost 4,000 miles of shoreline, more than any other state
• 400 lakes, all manmade
• Chesapeake Bay is 185 miles long, 30 miles wide at its widest, 174 feet deep at its deepest and holds 18 trillion gallons of water
• Highest point is Backbone Mountain in the Allegheny Mountains in the western panhandle; it stands 3,360 feet above sea level
• 23 counties and Baltimore City
POPULATION
Data Source: 2000 US Census Data
• Ranks 19th in population; 6th in density
• 5,296,486 people
• 541.9 people per square mile, most along the I-95 corridor from Delaware to Washington, DC
• Top five counties in density:
Montgomery County 873,341
Prince George’s County 801,515
Baltimore County 754,292
Baltimore City 651,154
Anne Arundel County 489,656
STATE SYMBOLS
• Bird: Baltimore Oriole
• Boat: Skipjack
• Cat: Calico
• Colors: Black and Gold
• Crustacean: Maryland Blue Crab
• Dinosaur: Astrodon Johnstoni
• Dog: Chesapeake Bay Retriever
• Drink: Milk
• Fish: Striped Bass (a.k.a. Rockfish)
• Flower: Black-Eyed Susan
• Folk Dance: Square Dance
• Fossil Shell: Ecphora quadricostata (an extinct snail that inhabited the Chesapeake Bay)
• Gem: Patuxent River Stone
• Horse: Thoroughbred
• Insect: Baltimore’s Checkerspot Butterfly
• Reptile: Diamondback Terrapin (also University of Maryland mascot)
• Song: “Maryland, My Maryland”
• Sport: Jousting
• Team Sport: Lacrosse
• Tree: White Oak
