With 6 percent increases in tourism employee payroll and visitor spending to the State in 2014, OTD’s annual report highlights the economic power of tourism in Maryland. "Tourism continues to be a powerful economic engine for Maryland," said Secretary of Commerce Mike Gill. "More than 140,000 Marylanders were directly employed in the tourism industry in 2014, making it the 10th largest private sector employer in the state. These jobs supported a payroll of $5.4 billion, which saw a 6 percent increase from the year before."

Visitor spending has grown by more than 3 percent in each of the last three years with visitors spending $16.4 billion on travel expenses in 2014 and generating $2.2 billion in state and local tax revenues. The Maryland Comptroller’s office reports a 6 percent increase in tourism based sales taxes in 2015 and, since 2007, tourism sales tax revenues have grown 46.7 percent, outperforming the overall state growth of 28 percent. The number of visitors traveling in the state has also been on the upswing as Maryland welcomed 38.2 million domestic visitors in 2014, an increase of 5.8 percent over 2013. Visitation in 2014 was 40.5 percent greater than 2007, when the state counted 27.2 million visitors. This 40.5 percent increase in the state's annual visitors was substantially greater than the 25.7 percent increase in tourism nationwide.

To read the entire report, follow this link to the FY2015 Tourism Development Annual Report.

MSAC Public Art Program Director Liesel Fenner was in Hagerstown last month to discuss a proposed pedestrian and cycling trail that would join Hagerstown’s Arts & Entertainment (A&E) District, City Park and the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. The proposed trail would incorporate public art along the route as a means to connect the community’s art spaces both geographically and conceptually while creating a multifaceted community asset that stands as an arts destination unto itself. The session garnered an enthusiastic response from the assembled community representatives, which included Hagerstown civic leaders as well as trail partners from the Washington County Arts Council (WCAC), Hagerstown Parks & Engineering Department, Hagerstown A&E District, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, and artist William Cochran who is developing the trail public art master plan. For more information about MSAC’s Public Art Program, visit msac.org.

Pictured left to right: Mayor David Gysberts, Linda Barnhart, James Pierné, and Liesel Fenner, photo courtesy of the Hagerstown A&E District

Maryland Office of Tourism Travel Trade Sales Manager Rich Gilbert and representatives from the Maryland tourism industry attended the 2016​ American Bus Association Marketplace in Louisville, KY. The ABA represents more than 1,000 motorcoach and tour companies in the U.S. and Canada, and their annual marketplace is the premiere trade event for the industry. Bus and group tourism is an important revenue stream for Maryland, and OTD has gotten strong results from previous ABA marketplaces thanks in part to programs like "Maryland Made Easy" which was developed by Gilbert to provide plug and play solutions for group tour operators. Representatives from 16 Maryland counties and cities were on hand to promote their destinations, and Gilbert expects a strong response in the weeks and months following ABA.

Pictured: Representatives from across the state attended ABA to promote Maryland tourism.

Each week, the Maryland Minute provides highlights and insights on this weekend’s events around the state. Maryland Minute is featured on CBS radio stations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. and on Baltimore’s WBAL-AM 1090.