Visit Baltimore Recaps Fiscal Year and Celebrates Baltimore’s Momentum at FY24 Annual Meeting
Visit Baltimore, the official destination sales and marketing organization for the city of Baltimore, held its annual meeting on Thursday, October 24 at the Baltimore Convention Center (BCC). Over 400 hospitality industry professionals, elected officials and local stakeholders attended the meeting, which highlighted the impact of Baltimore’s tourism industry along with Visit Baltimore’s sales, marketing and communication efforts over the past fiscal year.
This year’s meeting explored the theme of momentum, looking toward the future of the city as investment continues and visitation returns to pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, domestic travel generated $4 billion for Baltimore’s economy according to data released by Longwoods International, a 7.4% increase from previous year.
“Baltimore is embracing an era of transformation that celebrates our rich culture and potential,” said Al Hutchinson, President and CEO of Visit Baltimore. “As we work to write the story of Baltimore’s future being driven by innovation, equity and sustainability, we continue to uplift our vibrant community, diverse small businesses and dedicated hospitality partners who are at the heart of making Baltimore a top destination for leisure visitors and meeting planners alike. This is our moment to build a thriving, inclusive community and show the world what makes Baltimore truly special.”
Evita Robinson, Founder of NoMadness Travel Tribe, a community comprised of over 30,000 Black and Brown travelers based around the globe, presented a keynote speech, focusing on Baltimore as a city of initiators. The presentation included the premier of a three-part video series by Visit Baltimore in collaboration with NoMadness, exploring Baltimore’s past and present, reflecting on the city’s pivotal role in the civil rights movement, and how that revolutionary spirit is represented in the unique combination of vision and grit that makes Baltimore a city unlike any other.
Other speakers included Charles “Chuck” Tildon, III, Chair of the Baltimore Convention & Tourism Board; Brandon M. Scott, Mayor of Baltimore City; Nick Mosby, President of the Baltimore City Council; Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson; Maryland Secretary of Commerce Kevin Anderson; Al Hutchinson, President & CEO of Visit Baltimore; and Mac Campbell, Executive Director of the Baltimore Convention Center.
In keeping with the theme of momentum, the programming showcased one of Visit Baltimore’s newest initiatives: a mobile visitor center, affectionately named “Smalltimore.” First unveiled at the 2024 Preakness Stakes, Smalltimore is designed to resemble Baltimore’s iconic brick and Formstone row homes and tell the story of Baltimore’s history as a community of makers and entrepreneurs. Design features include a mural by local artist Ernest Shaw, Jr.; a “Greatest City in America” bench created by Goodwood Designs built with reclaimed materials from Camp Small; a custom ghost sign celebrating Baltimore as “A City of Firsts”; and an authentic ceramic Camark “Climbing Cat. “
Visit Baltimore also celebrated one of the organization’s greatest successes of the past year; securing the bid for the 2033 American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Annual Meeting and Exposition. The meeting, which generates an immediate economic impact of between $15 and $18 million, is known in the industry as the “Super Bowl of Conventions,” due to the visibility, potential for future hosting opportunities and economic impact it provides for the host city. The program included a review of the bid process, which positioned Baltimore as the convention city of the future, complete with a virtual reality presentation, A.I. generated renderings of the city in 2033 and a robot dog, named Edgar, who delivered the official RFP response.
This year’s Visit Baltimore Tourism Awards were presented by Vanessa Finney, President of Quercus, Inc., and Executive Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic Nursey Trade Show (MANTS). MANTS has hosted their annual convention at the BCC for over 10 years, consistently collaborating with the BCC to reuse and recycle leftover materials from their events, diverting over 95 tons of materials from landfills in 2023 alone. Finney, with assistance from Edgar the Robot Dog, presented Visit Baltimore’s Charm City Champion Award to author and 2024 James Beard Media Award winner D. Watkins; the Bridge Award to Reverend Dr. Al Hathaway, Sr., CEO of Beloved Community Services Corp., a nonprofit that rehabilitates historic properties, including the Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center; and the William Donald Schaefer Visionary Tourism Award to Laurie Schwartz, President of the Waterfront Partnership, in celebration of the organization’s efforts to position Baltimore’s waterfront as a hub for active, water-based tourism through initiatives like Rash Field Skate Park, the Baltimore Blueway and Swimmable Harbor 2024.
ABOUT VISIT BALTIMORE
Visit Baltimore is the official sales and marketing arm for the City of Baltimore. The 501(c)(6) non-profit organization generates economic benefits for stakeholders through the attraction of convention, group and leisure visitors. In 2023, 27.5 million people visited Baltimore for overnight and day trips, generating a total of $4 billion to Baltimore’s economy. For more information, please visit Baltimore.org.