Md. Tourism Suffers After
Terrorist Attacks By Alan
Brody
Capital News Service
Friday, Sept. 20, 2001
ANNAPOLIS - Maryland's tourism and entertainment industries, both
major sources of state revenue, are being hit hard by the Sept. 11
terrorist bombings at New York's World Trade Center and the nearby
Pentagon.
Tourists normally spend $7.7 billion a year in Maryland, mostly in
Baltimore's Inner Harbor entertainment district, said Maryland Department
of Business and Economic Development officials.
"The harbor was pretty much shut down" Sept. 11,
said Robin Givens, spokeswoman for the USS Constellation, a historic Civil
War battleship museum at Inner Harbor. Attendance at that museum
attendance last week - at about 1,000 - was half the norm for this time of
year. But it improved over the weekend, said Givens. "I think people
were just trying to get out and about, and get their minds off
things," said Givens.
Six Baltimore Orioles games at Camden Yards were postponed, as was
the Sept. 17 Monday Night Football contest between the Baltimore Ravens
and Minnesota Vikings at PSINet Stadium. No ticket revenue will be lost
because the games have been rescheduled, but hotels and restaurants that
are normally busy were hurt, city officials said.
Some hotels reported an 80 percent cancellation rate the weekend
following the attacks, said Nancy Hinds, communications director for the
Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association. Next to the airline
industry, hotels have felt the most negative economic impact since the
attack, said Pradeep Ganguly, chief economist for the Maryland Department
of Business and Economic Development.
That negative impact is short term, he said, and is expected to
reverse in the coming months. "The economy will adjust itself by
reallocating resources and spending," said Ganguly. "Some
sectors will lose jobs, but others will gain jobs. Consumers still have
the spending power."
The Baltimore Convention Center had to shorten, cancel or postpone
several events in the center's busiest quarter because of the terrorist
bombings, including the Pump Users Expo, of engineers, which was expected
to bring in 1,600 participants and $3.9 million to the city. Attendance at
upcoming conventions is expected to be halved, said Jennifer Douglas,
spokeswoman for the convention center.
Two of Baltimore's biggest tourist attractions, the National
Aquarium and Maryland Science Center, reported normal traffic since the
attacks, aside from Sept. 11's early closing for security measures.
The Top of the World Observation Level, another popular tourist
attraction on the 27th floor of Baltimore's World Trade Center, remains
closed over security issues, even though the rest of the building reopened
Friday.
The Atlantic Coast Conference postponed athletic events from Sept.
11 to 15, including the University of Maryland's football game with West
Virginia University, rescheduled for Sept. 29. Security measures have been
increased for the team and fans, but no revenue loss is anticipated.
The U.S. Naval Academy's football game in Evanston, Ill., against
Northwestern University was cancelled and could not be rescheduled.
Athletic officials are scrambling to find a replacement opponent to offset
some of the lost revenue.
Security at many typical tourist spots are being reviewed and
heightened. "Some hotels are not allowing cars to park in
front," said Hinds. "Bellmen will not take bags as often, and
when someone is sitting in a lobby for too long, they might be approached
by security. People are a lot more alert in general."
The U.S. Sailboat show, scheduled for early October in Annapolis,
will go on as planned, with a crowd of nearly 100,000 expected over the
two-week event.
Other Maryland attractions have done well since the incidents,
including the Deale Bluegrass Festival and the Maryland Renaissance
Festival, which experienced record attendance over the past weekend,
according to the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference and
Visitors Bureau.
Officials from Blockbuster Video said overall store traffic has
increased since the attacks, especially from seekers of
"feel-good" movies. "I think what we have seen is people
who stayed home with family, and when they needed a break from the nonstop
news coverage, video rentals was one way to do that," said Randy
Hargrove, spokesman for Blockbuster.
Hargrove noted the company has not pulled hijacking or
terrorist-related movies, like "Air Force One" or "The
Siege" off the shelves, leaving the decision to rent those movies to
the customers.
Copyright © 2001 University of Maryland College of
Journalism
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