Everything Frederick (In 60 Minutes or Less)

What your customers need to know about Frederick County.

Who We Are

Becky BickertonDirector of Sales

Michelle KershnerMarketing & Communication Manager

Get The ScoopThis session will…Arm you with

information about Frederick County to wow your customers. 

Discover why people visit the Frederick area and what they do when they’re here. 

Learn fun facts and the truth behind some of Frederick’s myths. 

What Tourism Does

Frederick Visitor Center Visitor Statistics Groups Sales Missions Destination Marketing Press Visits & Media Requests Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area

Management Entity Calendar of Events & Visitor Guide Historic Sites Consortium

Scenic Byways Manager Product Development

Did you know?

We welcome 25,000 visitors annually to the Frederick Visitor Center.

1,000 of them are international travelers

Our top international visitors that come to our visitor center are from Canada, the UK,

and Germany.

International Market

Berkhamsted, England

Marketing/Partners Organization

Tourism Council of Frederick County

Host Writer or Group Leaders

Article/Tour Inclusion

Lots of time goes by

Visitors Arrive!

“Thank you for the kind and warm welcome which was extended to us. I had never visited Frederick before but was delighted to find such a beautifully preserved downtown.

It turned out to a real gem of a find, to which I was led by an article I read in my daily newspaper’s travel section on the city.

Keep up the good work. I very much hope that I will visit Frederick again one day soon.”

Andrew WebbBerkhamsted School, Herts., England

USA 2013 History Visit Organiser

Connecting with Visitors

A warm welcome is important.We can help.

Pop Quiz:We welcomed nearly 400 visitors from this state at

the Frederick Visitor Center in 2012…

California Delaware WashingtonMichigan

“Eureka! I have found it!” California State Motto

California - 393Delaware – 145 Washington - 132Michigan - 305

Why do they visit?Shopping & DiningCivil War/HeritageBusiness/Ft. DetrickArts &

EntertainmentOutdoor RecreationAgritourism/WineriesGenealogy

Visitor Snapshot

Jerry Holcomb and Sally Edwards, from San Diego, California, stopped in the Frederick Visitor Center on Monday, December 3, 2012 to kickoff their full week of Civil War exploration. 

“Eureka! I

have found it!

”

Pop Quiz: How much do visitors to Frederick County spend annually?

$25 million$50 million$150 million$325 million

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$260,000,000

$270,000,000

$280,000,000

$290,000,000

$300,000,000

$310,000,000

$320,000,000

$330,000,000

$294,600,000$299,500,000

$286,000,000$288,600,000

$325,200,000

Economic Impact of Tourism in Frederick County

The Economic Impact of Tourism in Maryland report for calendar year 2011, released in January 2013, shows that visitor spending in Frederick County totaled more than $325million, a 12.7% increase from 2010 and well ahead

of pre-recession levels.

What do visitors want to know?

I have arrived!

Now what?

Where am I? Fredericksburg or

Frederick?

How we helpFrederick Visitor

CenterGive Directions –

Gettysburg, DC, Antietam

Provide MapsOffer Frederick

Visitor Guide/Brochures

What happened here? Did George Washington Sleep Here? (Probably,

we just don’t know where.)

George Washington visited Frederick County on at least 3 occasions. He had to sleep somewhere.

5 Historic Facts About Frederick1. Frederick was founded in 1745 by an Irish Immigrant in an

English Colony.2. However, many early settlers were German.3. The National Road runs right through the heart of Frederick

(you know this as Patrick Street). Do you know where the 45 mile marker is?

4. Frederick served as one vast hospital after the Battles of Antietam and South Mountain. Frederick was the largest Union town that Gen. Lee and his army would occupy during the Civil War.

5. Francis Scott Key began his career in Frederick and Frederick is his final resting place.

Is anything special

happening?

Why, yes there is…

Star-Spangled Banner Visits FrederickJune 14-15, 2013

Francis Scott Key’s original Star-Spangled Banner song lyric manuscript comes to

Frederick

June 14 – 15, 2013Francis Scott Key’s original Star-Spangled

Banner song lyric manuscript comes to Frederick

View Francis Scott Key’s original Star-Spangled Banner song lyric manuscript at City Hall.

Attend Marker dedication ceremonies that unveil Key

interpretive markers in Frederick.

See At the Frederick Visitor Center, see a new exhibit featuring a fragment of one of the British bombs

that exploded over Fort McHenry.

Anthem & Author Reunited:War of 1812

Gettysburg 150th CommemorationJune 28-July 7, 2013

Ribbon Cutting June 27 – Frederick Exhibits Open at Mason Dixon Welcome Center

Related Exhibits &

Events at the National

Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann

Seton

Civil War Trails – Brochures &

Free App

4 million visitors

Mythbusting:Which side was Maryland on

during the Civil War… Union or Confederate?

Maryland never voted on the issue.

When the legislature met in Frederick for a special session, Federal troops arrested Southern

sympathizing legislators.

The vote was scheduled for September 17, 1861, but never happened because a quorum was never

reached.

Maryland never voted on the issue of secession.

This kept the Union capitol from being encircled by states in rebellion.

Neither

5 Civil War Sites People are Visiting1. Monocacy National Battlefield –

2014 is the 150th Commemoration of the Battle of Monocacy

2. National Museum of Civil War Medicine

3. South Mountain State Battlefield Park

4. Civil War Trails – Invasion and Retreat of Gettysburg & Antietam

5. Mount Olivet Cemetery – More than 700 Confederate soldiers buried here.

“Eureka! I have found

it!”

Frederick is a Basecamp for

Civil War Exploration

Big Impact

Visitors to Monocacy National

Battlefield generated

$2.8 million in local visitor

spending in 2011.

The Great OutdoorsCan I visit

Camp David?

NO!Visitors cannot visit Camp David.

But they can visit our 11 National & State Parks. Camp David is a part of Catoctin Mountain Park.

What is there to do here?Can I take a boat

ride down the canal?

Is it the C&O?

Pop Quiz:What is our largest visitor

attraction?

Downtown Frederick!

Downtown Frederick!

1. 50-block Historic

District2. Top 25 Arts Cities3. Prettiest Painted

Places4. Dozen Distinctive

Destinations5. Great Places in

America6. Preserve America

Community

Great American Main Street!

Ongoing Events and Activities 13 Must See sites of 2013

What can I do for FREE?

8 Freebies for Your Customers1. Self-Guided Downtown Frederick Walking

Tour – In the Visitor Guide2. African American Heritage Sites

Walking/Driving Tour3. Covered Bridges Driving Tour4. Barbara Fritchie’s Frederick5. Civil War Trails Driving Tours – Brochures

& Apps6. Frederick History Bicycle Loop7. Public Art Tour – Coming Soon!8. Francis Scott Key’s Frederick– New!

At the Frederick Visitor CenterScavenger Hunt for Kids (Indoor and Around Town)

Exhibits & Visitor Orientation FilmRestrooms

Open 9-5:30 Daily

Mythbusting:How many clustered spires are there?

5 Spires

7 Spires

8 Spires

Others also include City Hall's cupola, bringing the count to

8.

Spires by the Numbers…Purists say there are 5: St. Johns the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church (1), Evangelical Lutheran Church (2 - twin spires), Trinity Chapel (1 spire - the oldest, dating from 1807), and All Saints Episcopal Church (1).  Some include church cupolas, bringing the count to 7: Evangelical Reformed Church (2 cupolas). 

It depends on who you ask!

Our job is to help them find you - Our secret destinations and hidden gems.

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”

-Martin Buber

Questions?

www.visitfrederick.org