WASHINGTON -- Invitations will be sent out in July for the 23rd
annual American Bus Association Marketplace, which is being held
Jan. 27 to Feb. 3 in Baltimore. It marks the first time since 1980
that the marketplace will not be held in December. Meetings at the
2001 ABA Marketplace will take place at the Baltimore Convention
Center.
Host hotels are: the Baltimore Hyatt, Baltimore Marriott, Days
Inn Inner Harbor, Omni Inner Harbor and Sheraton Inner Harbor.
Maryland tourism officials said they expect that the venue, the
easy accessibility of Baltimore and the change to late January will
help them draw between 2,200 and 2,400 delegates. About 1,800
delegates attended the 1999 ABA event in Birmingham, Ala.
At the marketplace in Baltimore, opening-night ceremonies will
be held on Super Bowl Sunday, Jan. 28, and will feature a "plethora
of television sets of all sizes, so attendees won't miss any of the
action," said Lisa Hansen, director of tourism development for the
Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association.
"The night is designed to showcase sports around Baltimore and
throughout the state of Maryland," Hansen said.
The event planned for Jan. 29 will be sponsored by Harborplace,
a collection of shops and eateries in the Inner Harbor, and will
feature foods from around the state. Also in the planning stages
are post-convention fam tours and sightseeing tours of
Baltimore.
"Our goal is to have operators experience Baltimore and the new
renaissance that has been happening here over the last couple of
years," Hansen said.
The aim is to stimulate visitor tours beyond the Inner Harbor
and into other neighborhoods to see what they have to offer, she
said.
"Fell's Point recently built a visitor's center because they
know how important tourism is," she said. "Before, people would get
off the water taxi and wander around the cobblestone streets
without knowing where to go."
Another neighborhood with a renewed emphasis on tourism is Mount
Vernon, which formed the Mount Vernon Cultural District Coalition,
bringing all of the businesses in the district together to focus on
how visitors can best experience the area.
Pending new attractions include the African-American Museum,
located on the edge of Little Italy and the Inner Harbor and
designed to spotlight African-American heritage in Baltimore, and
the Isaac Myer-Frederick Douglass Maritime Park in Fell's Point,
which offers visitors an inside look at maritime life in the
1800s.
Both attractions are slated for completion by 2002. Recent
additions to Baltimore include the National Historic Seaport, a
designated area around the waterfront; the ESPN Zone bar and
restaurant, and Port Discovery, an interactive children's
museum.
Most of Baltimore's bus traffic comes from the Midatlantic
corridor, Hansen said, with visits consisting of stopovers en route
to Washington or Florida, and more recently as a destination
trip.
The primary target groups are families, students and seniors,
with a focus on sporting events, African-American heritage and
educational tours.