OTD On the Road: Tourism Staff Studies Deal Island Tourism Potential

OTD On the Road: Tourism Staff Studies Deal Island Tourism Potential

The Office of Tourism Development’s (OTD) strives to engage with public and private partners across Maryland to maximize state and local assets. To that end, representatives from OTD joined with Somerset County tourism officials and local business leaders on a fact finding tour of Deal Island. “It was a tremendous thing to witness the Deal Island community sharing their amazing hospitality, but they weren’t sharing anything that isn’t there and available to any traveler,” said Julie Widdowson, director, Somerset County Tourism. The tour included a visit to the Skipjack Museum and Deal Island Heritage Center, which is currently under construction, marinas, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, natural tourism assets, a shipyard dedicated to restoring historic Maryland skipjacks, and a cruise on the Helen Virginia, one of about 40 skipjacks still sailing the Chesapeake. “We know we have something special, and bringing the marketing mind of the Maryland Office of Tourism will really help promote these assets. That outside perspective brings fresh insight,” Widdowson continued, “and we love our new hashtag, #TheRealDeal.”

While in Somerset County, Leland Strott, social and digital projects coordinator, OTD, also hosted a seminar on social media strategy and familiarization. The event drew 40 participants from both public and private partners, many of them new to social media. “Leland’s expertise, enthusiasm and professionalism were very well received,” said Widdowson. “She had a way to break the information down that made it approachable to inexperienced people. It was a very valuable tool that the Maryland Office of Tourism made available, and we were thrilled to take advantage of it.”

Pictured: OTD staffers join local industry partners (and their pets) and Somerset County tourism officials on Deal Island