More than 43.5 million people visited Maryland in 2022, spending $19.4 billion, 18.4% more than 2021, according to the Maryland Department of Commerce’s Office of Tourism. Last year’s tourist spending also topped pre-pandemic, 2019 levels by more than $1 billion.
Tourism spending in Maryland generated $2.3 billion in state and local taxes in 2022.
Maryland doesn’t cast its net for tourists far.
The Office of Tourism concentrates its marketing in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York, D.C. and Baltimore. Those are generally short trip visitors. Of total visitors in 2022, 17.6 million were overnight visitors, a 15% increase compared to 2021.
“Our office has focused its efforts on marketing and promoting the things that make Maryland unique, such as the Most Powerful Underground Railroad Storytelling Destination in the World; the Chesapeake Bay; Fish and Hunt Maryland; our Trail System Second-to-None; and our Scenic Byways,” said Liz Fitzsimmons, managing director of the Maryland Office of Tourism.
“These assets have helped us continue to deliver a $30 to $1 return on the state’s advertising efforts.”