State Official Stresses Tourism’s Economic Importance

OCEAN CITY – Officials with the state’s Tourism Development Office spoke with members of the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association at an economic development committee meeting this month about the importance of tourism dollars.

Within the presentation, members were able to see the impact of Ocean City’s tourism on economic development.

Liz Fitzsimmons, managing director of Tourism, Film and the Arts, encouraged attendees to seek support of tourism from the state’s politicians.

Fitzsimmons told members that Ocean City is one of the top two destinations in Maryland, behind Baltimore, and has influence over the state’s tourism and economic development.

Residents from the surrounding states, such as Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, were frequent visitors to the area last summer, but Fitzsimmons says the state could afford to place more efforts into attracting more individuals from Pittsburgh, a growing demographic of tourists.

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