The 2024 Maryland Tourism Awards were presented today at the 43rd Annual Maryland Tourism & Travel Summit in Harford County, Maryland. The awards, given by the Maryland Department of Commerce Office of Tourism Development and the Maryland Tourism Development Board, recognize excellence and major contributions in expanding the market of Maryland tourism products, maximizing opportunities to generate overnight stays, leveraging partnerships, and showcasing Maryland as an exciting, must-see tourism destination.
Kevin Anderson, Secretary of Maryland Department of Commerce and Liz Fitzsimmons, Managing Director of Maryland Department of Commerce’s Division of Tourism and Film, presented the awards during a luncheon at the conference.
“The Maryland Tourism Awards showcase the influential people, programs and organizations that have made an economic impact on our state by encouraging visitors to stay longer and spend more here,” said Secretary Anderson.
The award categories and winners are:
Leveraging Partnerships Award: This award was presented to Garrett and Allegany Counties for successfully identifying and packaging complementary assets in the region in order to drive revenue with overnight stays with its “Make It. In the Mountains” initiative.
- "Make It. In the Mountains'' is a successful partnership between Allegany and Garrett Counties focused on growing Western Maryland’s outdoor recreation economy. The project creatively utilized Western Maryland’s natural resources to establish the region as a hub for outdoor recreation manufacturing, through the tourism economy. By leveraging public lands, scenic byways, and a targeted recruitment strategy, visitation and economic growth increased in the region. The collaboration boasted a 5:1 ROI and resulted in more than 54,800 digital interactions, elevating the region’s brand while boosting tourism and economic development.
Market Expansion Award: Awarded to Maryland’s Coast, Worcester County for successfully producing an extensive advertising campaign to further expand an existing demographic and geographic market.
- Let’s Go Marketing Campaign is a multimodal advertising campaign with the goal of positioning Worcester County as a vibrant and appealing destination for getaways and day trips, with a strong emphasis on outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, watersports, and more. The highly targeted, multi-channel marketing strategy utilized a variety of dynamic and engaging creative content, designed for out-of-state residents within a four-hour drive and key feeder markets. The campaign successfully captured 6,131 new leads, ultimately resulting in an increase in web visitation, engagement, brand awareness and new hotel bookings.
Maximizing Opportunities Award: The recipient of this award is recognized for successfully taking advantage of an existing trend to generate overnight stays, and presented to Charles County Recreation, Parks and Tourism for its BruMate Outdoor advertising campaign.
- BruMate and Outdoor Recreation in Charles County is a strategic partnership campaign between Charles County, MediaOne.digital, BruMate and retail partner Ace Hardware. Co-branded marketing materials were placed in 54 Ace Hardware retail store locations in Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia and Pennsylvania during the holiday shopping season. The campaign is attributed to a 883.5% increase in social media platform reach and 20.2% increase in website page views for the Charles County tourism office, contributing to a 4.9% increase in visitor spending and a 5.1% growth in lodging tax collected over the same period.
Transactional Opportunities Award: Talbot County Economic Development and Tourism and the Avalon Foundation received this award for successfully creating innovative elements to attract more visitors to the county and Plein Air Easton Competition and Arts Festival, leading to increased revenue.
- Plein Air Easton Competition and Arts Festival is the largest and most prestigious outdoor painting competition in the United States and the premier art event in Talbot County. Its strategic use of art, creativity and partnerships have significantly increased visitor numbers and overnight stays - accommodating an additional 6,000-8,000 festival goers, and introducing new elements such as painting demonstrations, interactive workshops, the lavish Meet the Artist Party, and Small Painting Sunday. The multi-day festival has seen more than a 30% increase in visitor spending, particularly in the local hospitality, dining, and retail sectors. It has successfully leveraged its unique position to grow the economy in Talbot County, further demonstrating its vital role in promoting Easton as a vibrant cultural destination.
About Maryland Department of Commerce Office of Tourism
The Maryland Office of Tourism is an agency within the Maryland Department of Commerce. Visitors to the state spent $20.5 billion on travel-related expenses in 2023. The Maryland tourism industry also generated $2.4 billion in state and local taxes, essentially saving each Maryland household $1,027 in annual taxes, and directly supported Marylanders with 190,660 jobs. For more information, go to www.visitmaryland.org.
