Visit Howard County
Visit Howard County is a non-profit destination marketing organization, founded in 1984, that promotes Howard County, Maryland through its website, visitor guides, welcome center, and tiered membership program serving local tourism businesses and visitors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersEllicott City, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Visit Howard County does
Visit Howard County is a non-profit destination marketing organization (DMO) that promotes Howard County, Maryland as a leisure, business, and agritourism destination. Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Ellicott City, Maryland, the organization operates a visitor website that draws more than 700,000 user sessions per year, manages a physical Welcome Center, and produces digital and print visitor guides including the Digital Visitor Guide 2026. Its core constituents are visitors seeking trip planning information and local tourism businesses that participate in its tiered membership program.
The organization's product surface spans a printed and digital visitor guide, the Open Rewards Farm Passport mobile app for agritourism, the HowardOnTap Craft Brew Trail, and thematic event programming such as the HoCo250 commemoration tied to the U.S. semiquincentennial. It runs on a SimpleView CRM/DMO platform for member and visitor data operations, and partners with Howard County Government, the Maryland Tourism Board, the Columbia Association, and Howard Hughes Corporation to align promotion with public-sector and developer-led activity.
Revenue is generated through membership dues tiered from $50 to $1,250 per year, advertising in the visitor guide, and brochure placement at the Welcome Center, with additional support from public-sector partners. The organization operates with a small team of 9 employees under the leadership of Executive Director Amanda Hof.
Visit Howard County firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Visit Howard County
- Legal name
- Visit Howard County
- Website
- https://visithowardcounty.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Visit Howard County is a non-profit destination marketing organization, founded in 1984, that promotes Howard County, Maryland through its website, visitor guides, welcome center, and tiered membership program serving local tourism businesses and visitors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Visit Howard County industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Destination Marketing Organization (DMO)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Full-Service Destination Management (Ground Handling & Onsite Operations) (THAHADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Experiential & Cultural Programming (Tours, Activities, CSR/Voluntourism) (THAHADAF), Venue & Special Event Site Sourcing (Unique Venues, Permitting) (THAHADAE)
Keywords
Where Visit Howard County is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ellicott City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Visit Howard County business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Program Fees: Visit Howard County generates revenue through a tiered membership program for local tourism-related businesses. Membership tiers include Alliance ($50/year), Strategic ($500/year), Stellar ($1,000/year), and Out-of-County ($1,250/year). Benefits include featured website listings, access to member directory, social media promotion, brochure placement in Welcome Center, and compression calendar access. The website attracts over 700,000 user sessions annually, providing members with promotional exposure.
- Visitor Guide Advertising: Revenue generated through advertising and listing placements in the Howard County Visitor Guide, a free publication distributed to visitors and potential tourists.
- Welcome Center Brochure Placement: Prominent brochure placement opportunities for local businesses in the newly renovated Welcome Center, generating revenue from tourism-related businesses seeking visibility among visitors.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Alliance Membership - Basic tier for local tourism businesses |
| Subscription | Annual | Alliance + Visitor Guide Listing - Basic tier with print visibility |
| Subscription | Annual | Strategic Membership - Mid-tier membership with enhanced benefits |
| Subscription | Annual | Stellar Membership - Premium tier with maximum visibility |
| Subscription | Annual | Out-of-County Membership - For hotels and businesses outside Howard County |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Visit Howard County product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Visit Howard County is the official destination marketing organization (DMO) for Howard County, Maryland, operating under the Howard County Tourism Council. It promotes Howard County as a visitor and meeting destination through a comprehensive tourism website, digital and print visitor guides, a physical Welcome Center in Historic Ellicott City, a tiered business membership program, event promotion, and dedicated sales support for meetings, sports, weddings, and group travel.
Product overview
Visit Howard County operates as the official destination marketing organization for Howard County, Maryland, offering a suite of digital and physical products. The core offering is the Visit Howard County destination website (visithowardcounty.com), which serves as a comprehensive travel planning platform. Supporting products include the Digital Visitor Guide 2026 (available as both downloadable PDF and interactive virtual magazine), the Visit HoCo Blog featuring seasonal content, and the Open Rewards Farm Passport mobile app. The membership program offers three tiers (Alliance $50, Strategic $500, Stellar $1,000 annually) providing businesses promotional opportunities, featured listings, and Welcome Center access. Additional services include the Howard County Welcome Center physical location and the HowardOnTap Craft Brew Trail guide. The platform leverages SimpleView CRM for member portal access and listing management.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Membership Program (Alliance, Strategic, Stellar, Out-of-County) A four-tier annual membership program for Howard County tourism and hospitality businesses (Alliance $50, Strategic $500, Stellar $1,000, Out-of-County $1,250) offering featured website listings, member directory access, social media promotion, brochure placement in the Welcome Center, event posting, and compression calendar access.
- Open Rewards Farm Passport Mobile App A free mobile passport application for iOS and Android that lets visitors check in at participating Howard County farm locations and earn rewards for shopping locally.
- Digital Visitor Guide A free downloadable PDF visitor guide providing comprehensive trip planning information covering things to do, places to shop, restaurants, and food options in Howard County, with paid listing placements for tourism businesses.
- Howard County Welcome Center A physical visitor center at 8267 Main Street in Historic Ellicott City, open Tuesday through Sunday 10AM-5PM, providing in-person visitor assistance, physical brochures, paid brochure placements for member businesses, and trip planning support.
- HowardOnTap Craft Brew Trail A curated trail guide promoting Howard County's breweries and taprooms, featuring farm breweries, brewpubs, and taprooms as a craft beer tourism product.
- Group Sales and RFP Services Dedicated direct sales support and Request for Proposal (RFP) submission processes provided to meeting planners, sports event organizers, group tour operators, and wedding planners for booking Howard County venues, hotels, and services.
Quantifiable outcome
- 700,000+ annual website user sessions providing promotional exposure for member businesses
Companies that use Visit Howard County
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Visit Howard County technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Visit Howard County partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Howard County GovernmentcoreVisit Howard County operates under the Howard County Tourism Council, a government-affiliated organization charged with marketing Howard County as a visitor and meeting destination. The organization works closely with Howard County government to promote tourism that significantly impacts the local economy, supporting hotels, restaurants, retailers, arts, and cultural assets.
- Maryland Tourism BoardminorVisit Howard County partners with Maryland Tourism (visitmaryland.org) as the regional tourism marketing organization for Maryland, promoting Howard County as part of the broader Maryland tourism ecosystem.
- SimpleView Inc.coreSimpleView Inc. provides the CRM and website platform powering visithowardcounty.com, including business listings, event calendars, membership management, and visitor information services. The platform enables Visit Howard County to manage listings, process membership applications, and deliver comprehensive tourism information.
- Howard Hughes Corporation (Merriweather District)coreVisit Howard County collaborates with Howard Hughes Corporation on promoting the Merriweather District and Columbia Lakefront area, featuring the iconic Merriweather Post Pavilion, Color Burst Park, and seasonal events like Lakefront Live concerts and Movies in the Park.
- Columbia AssociationcorePartnership with Columbia Association for promoting Columbia Lakefront events, outdoor movie nights, and community programming including Lakefront Live concert series and seasonal activities at Lake Kittamaqundi.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Visit Howard County competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Destination DC: Official DMO for Washington, D.C. Direct peer given Howard County's strategic positioning between D.C. and Baltimore; operates the same destination marketing model at a larger scale, competing for the same leisure and convention traveler pool.
- Visit Montgomery (Maryland): Official DMO for Montgomery County, Maryland. Sister-county DMO operating the same model with the same state tourism board affiliation, serving the D.C. metro visitor pool with overlapping MICE, leisure, and group travel offerings.
- Visit Baltimore: Official DMO for Baltimore, Maryland. Direct regional peer operating the same destination marketing model with membership tiers, visitor guides, and meeting planner services, serving the same Mid-Atlantic travel market adjacent to Howard County.
- Visit Fairfax: Official DMO for Fairfax County, Virginia. Comparable destination marketing organization in the D.C. metro region, offering the same membership, visitor guide, meeting planner, and wedding services targeting a similar traveler base.
- Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County: Regional DMO serving Annapolis and Anne Arundel County in Maryland. Comparable operating model—government-affiliated non-profit, tiered membership, visitor guide distribution, and meeting/sports sales—competing for the same Maryland traveler audience.
Broad incumbents
- Visit Philadelphia: Official DMO for Philadelphia. Larger, established regional DMO operating a comparable destination marketing and convention bureau model on the same Mid-Atlantic corridor, with a broader portfolio of assets and significantly larger budget.
- Choose Chicago: Official DMO for Chicago. Larger, well-funded destination marketing organization operating a comparable model (membership tiers, visitor guides, meeting sales, sports marketing) but at a far greater scale and budget than Visit Howard County.
- Visit Virginia: State-level DMO for Virginia. Larger, broader-scope destination marketing organization that partners with regional DMOs including Visit Fairfax, providing statewide coordination and cooperative marketing similar to Visit Howard County's relationship with Maryland Tourism.
Others
- SimpleView: Technology platform provider powering visithowardcounty.com with CRM, business listings, event calendars, and membership management. Adjacent ecosystem enabler that serves hundreds of DMOs nationwide, including most of Visit Howard County's direct peers.
- Maryland Office of Tourism Development: State-level tourism marketing organization. Partner and umbrella organization for Visit Howard County, providing cooperative marketing, FAM tour coordination, and statewide tourism data. Analogous state-DMO relationships apply to all of Visit Howard County's regional peer DMOs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Visit Howard County social profiles
Digital presenceVisit Howard County financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Visit Howard County leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Visit Howard County funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Visit Howard County M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Visit Howard County
What does Visit Howard County do?
Visit Howard County is the official destination marketing organization (DMO) for Howard County, Maryland, operating under the Howard County Tourism Council. It promotes Howard County as a visitor and meeting destination through a comprehensive tourism website, digital and print visitor guides, a physical Welcome Center in Historic Ellicott City, a tiered business membership program, event promotion, and dedicated sales support for meetings, sports, weddings, and group travel.
Is Visit Howard County a public or private company?
Visit Howard County is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Visit Howard County founded?
Visit Howard County was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Visit Howard County based?
Visit Howard County is headquartered in Ellicott City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Visit Howard County make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership Program Fees are the primary driver. The others are visitor Guide Advertising and welcome Center Brochure Placement.
Who are Visit Howard County's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Destination DC, Visit Montgomery (Maryland), Visit Baltimore, Visit Fairfax and Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County. Broad incumbents are Visit Philadelphia, Choose Chicago and Visit Virginia. Others are SimpleView and Maryland Office of Tourism Development.
Does Visit Howard County have an API?
No public API is recorded for Visit Howard County.
What industry is Visit Howard County in?
Visit Howard County's product category is Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAHADAA, Full-Service Destination Management (Ground Handling & Onsite Operations), with a secondary code of THAHADAF, Experiential & Cultural Programming (Tours, Activities, CSR/Voluntourism).