A Message from the President & CEO and Board Chair
Traditionally , Visit Baltimore ’ s annual report is a celebration of the tourism industry in Baltimore and the accomplishments our organization achieved over the past year . While it is still important to recognize our wins , it ’ s also critical that we share some of the unprecedented challenges and spotlight the threats Visit Baltimore and the tourism industry are still facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The U . S . Travel Association ( USTA ) reported that 15.8 million travel-related jobs in the U . S . have been lost due to the pandemic . This has resulted in an industry unemployment rate of 51 %, which is more than twice the 25 % unemployment rate that the country experienced during the Great Depression . This economic downturn has been particularly detrimental in a city like Baltimore , where the travel industry is the third largest economic driver .
The harsh reality is that the travel industry is not expected to recover until 2024 . Based on our own data , the combined revenue loss for the hotel tax collection and Baltimore Tourism Improvement District ( BTID ) collection was approximately $ 7 Million for the FY20 fiscal year . While Visit Baltimore has lost $ 7 million ( and counting ), Baltimore ’ s economy has lost an estimated $ 91.7 million just from Baltimore Convention Center ( BCC ) business while the center serves as a field hospital . As a result , we ’ ve had to make difficult decisions and take drastic actions in order to ensure the long-term viability of our organization , including instituting layoffs and furloughs .
2020 has brought pain and loss in myriad ways . In just the first half of year , COVID-19 and the killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans at the hands of police officers magnified the entrenched institutional racism and other problems facing so many cities across America . While we were forced to halt plans to fully launch Visit Baltimore ’ s new brand and its robust companion campaign in early 2020 , we believe there ’ s a unique opportunity right now to showcase our rich Black culture , history and heritage as well as our emerging creative entrepreneurs . Through our work , we seek to celebrate the Baltimoreans who are leading change at a time when promoting peace and eradicating racism is at the forefront of our minds globally .
In the pages that follow , you ’ ll learn more about the highs and lows Visit Baltimore experienced during FY20 . As you read through this report , we ask you to join us TODAY in advocating loudly and passionately , for tourism ; it ’ s critical now more than ever before . We cannot sit back and watch Baltimore ’ s tourism industry fade away , and we need everyone to use their voices to let government officials in Maryland and Washington , D . C . know that tourism is a critical part of America ’ s economic heartbeat , and a pathway to career success and financial independence for so many of our hardworking friends and neighbors .
Thank you for your continued support of our organization and for everything you do to advance tourism in the great city of Baltimore .
AL HUTCHINSON President & CEO
JOHN FRISCH Chairman , Baltimore Convention & Tourism Board of Directors
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