Advertising & PromotionSpecial Promotions:A 4-city television campaign helped to entice visitors to the 2017 U.S. Sail/Power Boat Shows that experienced one of the strongest tickets sales in its history. The city also experienced one of the most widely attended Chocolate Binge Festival and Midnight Madness/Holiday Events in its history. Close to 36,000 tickets were sold for the Military Bowl. Fans filled hotels and restaurants in Annapolis and BWI.Broadcast/Digital/Banner Placements:AAA Connections Newsletter (Leisure) Multiview (Weddings, Leisure, Meetings, BWI) MPI Philadelphia Digital Directory (Sales/Meetings) Washington Post (Leisure) Google/Facebook/YouTube (Leisure/BWI/Meetings/ Weddings) Landmark (Chocolate Binge/Midnight Madness)Print Placements:Leisure: AAA World; Baltimore Magazine; Chesapeake Bay Magazine; Preservation; MD Motorcoach Directory; PropTalk; SpinSheet; Visit Baltimore; UpSt Art Hotels at BWI: Visit Baltimore Meeting/Sports: Mid Atlantic Events; MPI Philadelphia Directory; MPI Potomac Directory; Sports Events Wedding Washington Bride & Groom; Philadelphia Wedding; Pittsburgh Wedding; The Knot (VA/DC/MD/NJ/PA/DE/NY)Website Enhancements & EngagementA makeover of VisitAnnapolis.org was completed to help increase the site’s response time and functionally. The design upgrade also creates better access for mobile users on both phone and tablet.

The BWI “Park, Sleep & Fly” promotions attracted over 10,000 visits to TheHotelsAtBWI.com 'Deals' page.

Website analytics showed increases in all website platforms, compared to the same period last year. The biggest gain was seen with the 3 blog sites.Website Analytics  VisitAnnapolis.org, visitannapolis.org, MeetInAnnapolis.com, and Blog Sites                            TheHotelsAtBWI.com                                                           WeddingsInAnnapolis.com                                                         Group SalesThe sales department confirmed 37,536 total room nights booked YTD.Sales Activities 

FAMiliarization  EVENTS:

BWI/Arundel Mills Meeting Planner FAM

INDUSTRY EVENTS:

IMEX America; Luxury Meetings Summit; Connect Faith; TEAMS 17 Conference & Expo; USSSA National Convention; MPI Philadelphia Monthly Education Event; AMPs Holiday Networking Event

SITE VISITS:

Storck USA; LP;  Anne Arundel Community College District 1 Council for Marketing & PR;  Sports & Entertainment Travel, LLC; National Consumers League

Quarterly Booking Comparison - 2016 vs. 2017

Oct - Sept   2016 Oct - Dec 2017 YTD FY 17 YTD FY 18
Rooms 10,133 10,348 34,468 37,536
  Oct - Dec 2016 vs. 2017  YTD - FY 17 vs. FY 18
Variance +2.12% +8.6%

Public Relations & Communications The PR/Communications department arranged a press trip for Theresa Medoff, AAA World.

In addition to the press trip, assistance was provided to 25 journalists and media outlets, including: French freelance journalist Beatrice Chauvin; Lauren Phillips, Coastal Living; Perri Blumberg, Southern Living; Emma Henterly, Columbus Monthly; Melissa Howes-Vitek, Eastern Home and Travel Magazine; Amy Gross, AAA East Central; Debra Brokur, Global Traveler Magazine; Brendan Mills, Travel Channel; Vanessa Hughes, Sports Travel Magazine; Michele Fischer, 9 Doors Productions; Marsha Miller, Baltimore Sun; Jonathan Trager, USAE; Tawanna Smith, Mom’s Guide to Travel; Saliq Khan, WBALTV.com; Fodor’s; Rachel Ponder, APG News; Lisa Mowry, styleblueprint.com; Ed Condran, The Points Guy; freelance journalist Mary Tilghman; and Marcia Bradford, Convention South Magazine.Media Coverage Yielded

Mentions Audience Reach Publicity Value
Oct-Dec 2016 1033 1.2 B $417 K
Oct-Dec 2017 448 1.02 B $662 K
Variance FY 17/FY 18 -56% -15% 59%

Visitor Services

Visitor Count
Oct-Dec 2016 27,339
Oct-Dec 2017 29,205
Variance FY 17/FY 18 6.8%

Social Media

VisitAnnapolis/FoodieAnnapolis/HistorianAnnapolis/ExplorerAnnapolis

Followers/Fans as of Dec 31, 2017
Facebook 96,248
Instagram 13,785
Twitter 11,365