From Harford County government:
(Bel Air, MD) – – The Bel Air Armory was the host for nearly 80 tourism business leaders who gathered September 21 for the third annual Tourism Marketing Network Breakfast. The event was sponsored by the Harford County Office of Economic Development, Office of Tourism.
Harford County Executive David R. Craig provided opening remarks for the group and took time to proclaim “Super Heroes Day” in Bel Air on Saturday, September 26, 2009 as a means of helping to heighten the awareness of childhood cancer. Buontempo Brothers manager David Anderson was on hand to receive the county proclamation.
Shannon Rogers of Web.Advantage of Havre de Grace gave a presentation regarding the cost effective ways businesses can promote tourism thorough sites such as Twitter and video blogging.
The Harford County Office of Tourism has recently gained momentum in its marketing efforts with the launch of “Where’s Wini” a video blog or vblog series that reaches more than 12,000 potential visitors each month. The “Where’s Wini” vblog is disseminated each month by Harford County tourism manager Wini Roche through the E-xperience Harford, the county’s electronic newsletter from the Office of Tourism, as well as the website www.harfordmd.com.
Commenting on the video blog “Where’s Wini”, Roche stated, “People seem to enjoy getting their own personal tour of the many great sites in Harford County.”
The tourism industry in Harford County continues to grow, with visitors to the county spending more than $225 million dollars annually in local businesses. Additionally, over 100 area businesses have been successful in using destination marketing through the county’s Tourism Marketing Partnership program, which was introduced last year.
The Harford County Office of Tourism is also working with various partners to target “demand generators”, such as sports related tourism, including golf, Ripken Baseball and the new Cedar Lane sports complex. The Office of Economic Development estimates that approximately 20,000 – 30,000 visitors to the complex will utilize 10,000 hotel rooms throughout the year.
“Harford County has a lot to offer and our annual tourism marketing and networking breakfast is a way for county businesses to come together with the Office of Economic Development, the Office of Tourism and other partners to discuss matters of mutual interest to help our tourism business grow,” County Executive Craig stated.
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