Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1250928
24.5 million visitors, who spent $5.2 bil- lion. The Baltimore Visitor Center, which is operated by Visit Baltimore, is located on Light Street in the Inner Harbor. Much of the city's tourism centers on the Inner Harbor, with the National Aquarium being Maryland's top tourist destination. Baltimore–Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, generally known as "BWI," lies about 10 miles (16 km) to the south of Baltimore in neighbor- ing Anne Arundel County • • PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY • • Prince George's County has a popula- tion of 863,420 making it the second- most populous county in Maryland, behind Montgomery County. Prince George's County hotel stock includes 78 properties and 11,154 rooms, with anoth- er 24 hotels and 4,000 slated for the upcoming decade. In addition there are over 14,500 businesses, and 400 busi- nesses employ 100 or more workers. Prince George's County is home to: National Harbor, the Gaylord National Resort, MGM National Harbor, The Capital Wheel, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, FedEx Field and the Washington Redskins, Joint Base Andrews & the President's Air Force One aircraft, the University of Maryland, Bowie State University, Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, National Agricultural Library, National Archives at College Park, Rosecroft Raceway, USDA's Agricultural Research Center. MGM resort opened a 300-room hotel, a 135,000-sq. ft. casino, stores, a spa, restaurants, a 1,200- seat theater, a 35,000-sq. ft. conven- tion area, and a 5,000-sq. ft. parking garage. Prince George's Equestrian Center & Showplace Arena has seat- ing for over 5,000 and 37,180 sq. ft. for exhibition space. Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Bowie Center for the Performing Arts and Bowie State University Performing Arts Center are additional venues with fantastic acoustics, and seating capacity for 970, 150 and 450 respectively. If you are con- templating brin- ing your meeting or convention to Prince George's County, be sure to reach out to CVB president Leslie W. Graves and her team, which includes execu- tive V.P. George Cooley. They are ready to provide you with all the support services you need to make your event there a success. The world's largest clean room is in Prince George's County at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The Hubble Clean Room is an 86,000-sq. ft. space used to inte- grate and test space equipment and hardware. It is 1,000 times cleaner than a hospital operating room. Prince George's County is home to 7 Wine Vineyards and 15 golf cours- es. Local parks and natural areas include the Piscataway creek, Patuxent river, and the National Wildlife Visitation Center. Hospitality & Tourism has grown into an over $620 million industry for Prince George's County. It supports over 10,000 jobs and creates more than $50 million in local tax revenue. WHO YOU GONNA CALL? Prince George's County CVB – (301) 925-8300 https://experience pincegeorges.com Prince George's Black Chamber of Commerce (301) 57-9650 • • ANNAPOLIS • • Annapolis sits on Chesapeake Bay and is the home of the United States Naval Academy founded in 1845. Meeting and event planning programs can include the Banneker-Douglass Museum. There are 20 Hotels, with a total of 2,601 sleeping rooms. The largest hotel has 225 sleeping rooms. With more surviving 18th century build- ings than any other city in the United States, visiting Annapolis is like stepping back in time to the days when the city was a colo- nial seaport. The home of St. John's College, founded in 1696 as King William's School and the third oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Annual festivals include the Kunta Kinte, Chesapeake Bay Blues, and Annapolis Film Festivals. The Graduate Annapolis and Westin Annapolis hotels boasts 20,000 and 18,000 sq. ft. of convention space. In addition the Double Tree Annapolis and Crowne Plaza Hotels have 13,444 sq. ft. and 11,000 sq. ft. of meeting space respectively. WHO YOU GONNA CALL? Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County- (888) 302-2852 https://www.visitannapolis.org B M & T ••• January/February 2020 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 39 AREA GUIDES Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center Photo Credit: Gayland C.C