Visit Baltimore Unveils New Travel Data and Forecasts at 2021 Annual Meeting

BALTIMORE, MD – Visit Baltimore, the official destination sales and marketing organization for the city of Baltimore, held its annual meeting on Thursday, Nov. 18 at the B&O Railroad Museum. The meeting gathered Visit Baltimore stakeholders in-person for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Over 200 travel industry professionals attended the meeting which highlighted Baltimore’s tourism industry recovery along with Visit Baltimore’s sales, marketing and communication efforts through the past two years. While travel to Baltimore declined by 22%, compared to a steady increase the five years prior, data from destination market research firm Longwoods International shows that 70% of Americans now feel safe traveling outside their community.  

“The last year and a half has really shown us just how resilient, creative and flexible the Baltimore tourism and hospitality community is,” said Al Hutchinson, President & CEO of Visit Baltimore. “This experience serves as a reminder of our purpose to not only improve quality of life for our visitors but also for our community by driving economic impact that goes back into our city. We are full of hope for the future of our industry and for Baltimore.” 

Meeting speakers included Charles “Chuck” Tildon, Chair of the Baltimore Convention and Tourism Board; Ted Carter, Deputy Mayor for Community & Economic Development for Baltimore city; Al Hutchinson, President & CEO of Visit Baltimore; Kris Hoellen, Executive Director of the B&O Railroad Museum; and Emily Lessard, Chief Strategy Officer for Visit Baltimore’s creative agency, Bellweather, who served as the partner on Visit Baltimore’s brand transformation.   

The event featured a presentation by keynote speaker Adam Sacks, founder and President of Tourism Economics, who discussed travel trends in the Baltimore region and details about the travel industry’s recovery nationwide. 

“Baltimore City visitor spending declined 42% in 2020 with job losses of nearly one-third of all tourism jobs pre-pandemic,” said Sacks. “With vaccination rates increasing and consumer confidence returning, Baltimore occupancy and visitation has begun its ascent and is entering into the next phase of recovery.” 

In addition to the keynote address, performances were given by Baltimore-based author, poet and artist Mecca, who shared her poem, “Bridging Our People;” and singer-songwriter Zadia, who performed her song “Realest City in America,” which was featured in the Visit Baltimore “Your People Are Ready” marketing campaign beginning in 2021. 

To conclude the meeting, Wanda Draper, former executive director of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum and retirning Visit Baltimore board member, presented the inaugural Visit Baltimore Bridge Award to two individuals who have been instrumental in advancing the understanding and practice of diversity, equity and inclusion specifically within the hospitality and tourism industry in Baltimore. The first recipient, Dr. Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, founding director of The Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice on the campus of Loyola University Maryland, was honored for her work to develop the inaugural DEI training materials in support of Visit Baltimore’s new Warm Welcome Program. The second recipient was Janese Murray, founder and president of Inclusion Impact Consulting, LLC, a diversity, equity and inclusion consulting firm that partnered with Visit Baltimore to facilitate a multi-session DEI training for Visit Baltimore staff and hospitality industry leaders throughout the city.  

Finally, the William Donald Schaefer Visionary Tourism Award, which honors visionaries whose leadership and commitment to growing Baltimore has uplifted the community, was presented to Rebecca Hoffberger, founder, director and primary curator of the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM). Hoffberger is set to step down from her role at AVAM in 2022 after nearly thirty years. Her final curated exhibit, “Healing and the Art of Compassion (and Lack Thereof)”, runs through Sept. 4, 2022. 

About Visit Baltimore  

Visit Baltimore is the official sales and marketing arm for the City of Baltimore. The 501(c)(6) organization generates economic benefits for stakeholders through the attraction of convention, group and leisure visitors. In 2019, spending by travelers totaled $6 billion in direct spending throughout the city, supporting 86,827 total jobs and generating $750 million in state and city tax revenues. For more information, please visit Baltimore.org.