The Official Site of the Maryland Office of Tourism

Maryland Travel Industry Partners

The Sales and Marketing team of the Maryland Office of Tourism Development (OTD) is divided into two sections – North American Sales and International Sales. Many of their programs offer partnership and marketing opportunities to assist the Maryland travel business community to enter into a new market segment or take advantage of partnership opportunities with OTD to reach a variety of travel industry segments.

The North American Sales section is directed by Rich Gilbert. Rich has been working in this industry segment for more than15 years and is well respected within the industry. Rich serves on several committees of both national and state associations.

Rich promotes Maryland’s tourism assets and leads teams of Maryland suppliers as they promote their products to a variety of buyers. These market segments include:
tour operators; student travel providers; receptive tour operators; group leaders; meeting & incentive planners; reunion planners.

These buyers are “sold” on Maryland by presentations at trade and consumer shows, sales missions and marketplaces, as well as special promotions through the coordination of Maryland’s many travel partners who collectively increase the awareness of Maryland as a great destination for groups.

Motorcoach Travel Planners, Tour Operators and Student Travel Planners
Through association marketplaces sponsored by the National Tour Association (NTA), American Bus Association (ABA), Maryland Bus Association, Virginia Bus Association, Pennsylvania Bus Association (PBA), and the Ontario Motorcoach Association. Maryland Tourism promotes our many attractions, accommodations and travel services as well as coordinating marketing efforts such as sales missions, familiarization tour planning and support, itinerary planning and specialized itinerary oriented publications.

To help sell to the motorcoach and student market, OTD produces two publications.

Maryland Made Easy - a collection of suggested tours and itineraries that are sent to tour operators to facilitate booking tours directly from Maryland travel industry suppliers. The publication is also available by download; operator may cut/paste tours customized to the needs of their clients. Also, digital photographs of Maryland attractions may be downloaded at (link to Press Room’s image library - comming soon!) There is no cost for these services.

The Maryland Field Trip Guide - designed to promote Maryland’s attractions to the student market. Like Maryland Made Easy, the Maryland Field Trip Guide has packaged tours that are easy to buy from receptive operators and other suppliers. The tours are presented and listed to facilitate a teacher’s need to meet certain curriculum requirements along with performance venues for school bands and other performing groups. Also a listing of Maryland-based motorcoach companies is included to assist distant school groups in securing transportation. Click here to access the link for the Field Trip Guide.

Listing your package in either of these publications is free, and the tours will be available to tour operators on the OTD web site in a downloadable format.

Please note that the American Bus Association will be holding its 2012 marketplace in Maryland at the new Gaylord National Harbor on the Potomac River. Special co-operative sponsorship opportunities are being developed to support the hosting of the marketplace and the two promotional events being presented in 2008 in Virginia Beach and 2009 in Charlotte NC. This ABA promotion is a joint effort between the Maryland Tourism Office and , Virginia Tourism corporation and the Washington DC Convention and Tourism Corporation. For more information on sponsorships, contact Rich Gilbert. To join the American Bus Association go to their website at www.buses.org
- Meetings and Conventions
  Maryland Tourism is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and Meeting Professionals International (MPI) as well as Hotel Sales and Marketing International Association (HSMIA). OTD coordinates booth purchasing and sales team organization for the Maryland travel industry members, including Destination Marketing Organizations, hotels and attractions at these shows. Leads are generated and shared with partners and the Maryland Travel industry.

Group Leaders
Maryland Tourism coordinates booth space and the Maryland Sales team to promote Maryland’s many destinations, attractions and accommodations at shows such as Group Leaders of America, Bank Travel Network and others.

Sports Event Planners
OTD coordinates the Maryland sales presence at TEAMS, inviting DMO’s and other venue oriented sales staff to promote our Maryland sporting venues to event planners.

Reunions
OTD coordinates the Maryland sales presence at The Reunion Planner Conference and Marketplace inviting DMOs to promote Maryland as a great location for family, military and social reunions.

Consumer shows and special promotions
OTD participates in a series of consumer oriented travel, sports and vacation shows in our target markets to enhance the visibility of the full spectrum of vacation possibilities that Maryland has to offer. While the booths are generally staffed by OTD and Welcome Center personnel, volunteers are welcomed to join OTD staff to promote Maryland and their particular product.

Opportunities to participate include:
• Brochure distribution to consumers at travel shows. In FY 08, OTD will distribute your brochures at the Eastern Sport, Travel and Outdoor show (Harrisburg. Cost for show distribution is $125).
• Travel Show participation where you can sell your product to potential buyers. There is no cost to participate, only your travel expenses.

Please see the following calendar of events and opportunities for more information on the various association marketplaces.

2008	Meeting	Location
April 9-10	HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings Mid-America	Chicago, IL
Aug. 9-12	Meeting Professional International/World Education Congress (MPI/WEC)	Las Vegas, NV
Aug. 16-19	American Society of Association Executives (ASAE)	San Diego, CA
Sept. 10-11	HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings National	Washington, DC
Nov. TBD	Meetings and Conventions Meeting and Event Style Show (BIZBASH)	New York City
Nov. 20	HSMAI’s Meetings Quest	Washington, DC

rgilbert@visitmaryland.org

sstilling@visitmaryland.org

International Marketing

Maryland’s international marketing presence is directed through the Capital Region USA, (CRUSA) a not-for-profit corporation combining the resources of the Virginia Tourism Corporation, The Washington Convention and Tourism Corporation and the Maryland Office of Tourism Development. The 16 year-old marketing group promotes the tourism assets of the region though advertising, public relations, sales missions, special promotions and other marketing ventures targeting tour operators, receptive operators, airlines and consumers in a variety of markets. This initiative is directed by Pete Chambliss, who has been promotion Maryland internationally of 17 years. The primary markets for the Capital Region USA are the United Kingdom and Germany. Secondary markets include The Nordic Countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland), France, Belgium, The Netherlands, China, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

We offer publications such as the 48-page Capital Region USA Holiday Guide in English and German and a 16-page version in French, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.
Also, we work with tour operators and receptives in developing itinerary of the region by offering financial support to operators in select markets. Additionally, we supply tour operators and receptives as well as consumers with videos on DVDs, highway maps, photo/itinerary CDs and other promotional materials.

The Capital Region USA maintains trade and/or public relations representation services in the United Kingdom and Germany and trade relation representation in Belgium for Continental Europe, and the Nordic Region (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland). Please contact Matt Gaffney for more information.

toprep@aol.com

calendar

www.capitalregionusa.org

pchambliss@visitmaryland.org

CRUSA

mgaffney@capitalregionusa.org