Programs
Named one of The 15 Most Beautiful Rest Stops in America by Architectural Digest, the South Mountain Welcome Center is one of the eight Welcome Centers in OTD’s collection.
Maryland Welcome Centers are vital customer portals for travel information. Well-trained and enthusiastic travel counselors directly inspire and influence the travel decisions of the more than 250,000 customers we speak with each year. Welcome Centers are marketed annually through Visitmaryland.org, Destination Maryland Magazine, the state’s official travel guide, and Google My Business Listings.
Partner with the Welcome Center team through literature distribution, informational displays, and other promotional programming to maximize your business's exposure. For information about OTD’s Welcome Center program and opportunities , contact Peter Ayeni.
A tour on the Skipjack Wilma Lee from Annapolis Maritime Museum, a Chesapeake Gateway.
Chesapeake Gateways is a National Park Service network of places that provide opportunities to enjoy, learn about and help conserve the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Included in the visitor experience network are diverse natural, cultural, historical, and recreational sites, trails, museums, parks, refuges, interpretive and orientation facilities, and associated programs. These places, and Chesapeake Gateways as a whole, serve as entry points and the key guide for experiencing the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
If your organization owns or manages a site, trail, connecting route, water trail, or heritage area that helps visitors connect to the Chesapeake Bay watershed, join the Chesapeake Gateways visitor experience network, which can provide helpful resources to your visitors and your organization. Your site will be promoted through the National Park Service Chesapeake website, the National Park Service mobile application and other materials. Your staff will have training opportunities and your site will be able to use Chesapeake Gateways Branding Identity.
See criteria here: https://www.nps.gov/locations/chesapeakebaywatershed/join-ven.htm
In 2024, the Maryland Office of Tourism expanded its Great Chesapeake Bay Loop initiative with advertising, social media, a getaway guide, a resource piece listing Chesapeake Bay Storytellers, new web content and more.
The Great Chesapeake Bay Loop is marketed in partnership with the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Gateways.
Chesapeake Bay Storytellers are specialized tour companies that have been trained by the Maryland Office of Tourism and the National Park Service to lead tours about our treasured Chesapeake. They are knowledgeable about its history, nature, ecology, and more, and are ready to provide engaging, meaningful and thematic experiences for their guests. As part of the Chesapeake Gateways partnership between the Maryland Office of Tourism and the National Park Service, we are looking at ways to continue the Chesapeake Bay Storytellers training program in the future.
For more information about OTD’s Great Chesapeake Bay Loop and Chesapeake Bay Storytellers programs and our partnership with the National Park Service, contact Anne Kyle.
This wayfinding sign is one of thousands that help guide travelers through six states that are part of the Civil War Trails driving tours.
Maryland’s Civil War Trails continue to be one of the most popular attractions in the state. For partners, the power of the program is in the network of 1,350 sites across six states under one internationally recognized brand. If you have a Civil War Story to tell, consider joining what the National Trust for Historic Preservation considers one of the of the most successful and sustainable heritage tourism initiatives in the country.
Add a new Civil War Trails sign to your site and find more information about program membership, visit the Civil War Trails website.
For more information about OTD’s program and partnership with the Civil War Trails, contact Anne Kyle.
Cover of the current Maryland Network to Freedom guide markets the statewide collection of members online, in print and through PR pitches.
Maryland is the Most Powerful Underground Railroad Storytelling Destination in the World as the state with the most successful flights for freedom utilizing the Underground Railroad. Consumer inquiries for Underground Railroad travel information are on the rise because of OTD’s on-going domestic and international marketing. If you have an Underground Railroad site or place with connections to a freedom seeker, become a National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom member.
Maximize your storytelling and domestic/international marketing opportunities as OTD celebrates International Underground Railroad Month every September. Planning begins March of each year and promotes Maryland’s Network to Freedom.
For more information about OTD’s program and partnership with the National Park Service, contact Anne Kyle. For information about Network to Freedom membership, visit the Network to Freedom website.
Do you own, work with, or know of a property, facility, or program that helps to tell the story of the African American Civil Rights movement? If so, leverage this partnership opportunity with the National Park Service and apply to become part of the African American Civil Rights Network. Upon membership acceptance, OTD will work with you to expand your markets much in the same way we have through other national Park Service Programs.
For more information about OTD’s Civil Rights in Maryland program, contact Anne Kyle. For more information about the National Park Service program membership, visit the African-American Civil Rights Network website.
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Maryland Department of Transportation.
The Tourist Area and Corridor (TAC) Signage Program serve as wayfinding guides to eligible tourism attractions along select state-maintained routes, providing directions to Maryland recreational facilities and cultural treasures.
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) manages the TAC Signage Program. For more information, visit the MDOT SHA website.
A Specific Services sign informing travelers about food options on a Maryland interstate. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Maryland Department of Transportation.
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) manages the Specific Services Sign Program, which provides highway signs for eligible food, gasoline, lodging, and camping businesses.
For more information about how to apply, visit the MDOT SHA website.
A scenic drive along the Historic National Road in western Maryland leads travelers to attractions and businesses along the way.
Over the past decade, visitors have used Maryland Scenic Byways to take exciting multi-night road trips. Visitors are drawn to the state's byways because they provide engaging experiences that link sites showcasing a region’s unique scenery, nature, culture, history, recreation and/or archaeology. Maryland has 18 scenic byways, 6 of which are recognized as National Scenic Byways or All-American Roads, the highest designation in driving tours in the United States.
OTD is gearing up for the 25th Anniversary of Maryland Scenic Byways Program in 2025 by planning updates to online content, a new guide, promotions and more. If your tourism-related business is located on any of the byway corridors, contact Lisa Hansen Terhune to learn how you may maximize the opportunity to market your business.
For more information about the byway program, visit the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration website.
Below are several grant opportunities that fund tourism development projects that may help transform your destination into a world-class differentiator. Grant details, eligible projects, deadlines, and applications are available from funding source websites through the links below.
Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Grants
Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program Grants
Maryland Heritage Areas Authority Grants
National Scenic Byway Program Grants
Network to Freedom Grants
Recreational Trails Program Grants
Rural Maryland Council Grants
Transportation Alternatives Program
