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Optimism as Baltimore gears up for the summer tourism season

The side of a building sports a logo reading, "Welcome to Baltimore," in black and oranage with a blue cityscape in the background.
Brook Ward
/
Flickr
Visit Baltimore, the city's marketing arm, is aiming for 27 million visitors to travel to Baltimore by the end of this summer.

How much of Baltimore’s economy depends on tourism? As the summer season gets started this weekend, Al Hutchinson, president and CEO of Visit Baltimore, discusses reenergizing the city’s hospitality and tourism industries. “Based on the trend line to date, we’re trending up,” he says. “So if we can achieve that 27 million in visitors at the end of the summer of 2022, I believe that’s a good news story for Baltimore.”

Check out the Visit Baltimore calendar of upcoming events in the city. Details about the Baltimore By Baltimore event here.

Then, how are local business leaders recovering from the pandemic and preparing for summer? Bob Haislip, general manager of the Royal Sonesta Harbor Court, discusses changes in travelers’ booking habits, and Lesley Malin, producing executive director of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, tells us how theater is bouncing back.

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Maddie is WYPR’s Digital Communications Associate, helping with all things digital for the station. She is a recent graduate of Fordham University where she studied Communications and Economics. Maddie started in public radio during her time at Fordham at 90.7 FM WFUV, New York’s music discovery station. She produced the weekly radio show/podcast Cityscape, an exploration of the people, places, and spirit of New York City. She also produced two award-winning audio documentaries for WFUV, Back to the Garden: Remembering Woodstock and You Should Know Their Names.