Do you enjoy meeting people? If your answer is “YES!”, the Maryland Welcome Center Program under the Office of Tourism Development is expanding its Welcome Center Volunteer Program State. There are 13 state-operated Welcome Centers in Maryland located in Cecil, Charles, Queen Anne’s, Garrett, Washington, Frederick, Ann Arundel (BWI Airport and State House in Annapolis), Worcester and Howard counties.
Travel Counselors greet visitors, assist with directions, hotel accommodations and itineraries, greet motorcoaches and work with tourism industry and private sector representatives. Volunteers are trained as Travel Counselors, have the opportunity to participate in Welcome Center Programs such as familiarization tours, new product and customer service seminars, and team meetings.
Familiarization Tours – Welcome Center staff members complete a fall and a spring familiarization tour (FAM) which rotates annually throughout the state and may require overnight accommodations.
Annual Staff Seminar – An annual seminar is held in February/March for three days within the State of Maryland. All Welcome Center staff are invited to attend and the Welcome Centers are closed during this period. Accommodations and expenses are covered for participants.
Volunteer Hours – The Welcome Center Volunteer program calls for a minimum of 4 hours, but no more than 8 hours per day. The Welcome Centers operate seven days per week and volunteers participate anywhere from one to seven days per week.
Hours of Operation – Most Centers operate from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. year round. Memorial to Labor Days, centers are open until 6 p.m. on Fridays. BWI and State House have hours governed by their entities. All Centers are closed on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day as well as three days in February/March for the annual Welcome Center Staff Seminar.
Please join us – We are a proud and friendly group of tourism professionals that serve as Maryland’s front-line ambassadors. If you are interested in volunteering with a Maryland Welcome Center, please contact Jennifer M. Jones at (410)767-6296, or fill out the Volunteer Applica tion Form, save the form and e-mail to jjones@visitmaryland.org .