Visit Hagerstown and Washington County Maryland

What Visit Hagerstown and Washington County Maryland does

Visit Hagerstown and Washington County Maryland (legal name: Hagerstown/Washington County Convention & Visitors Bureau; dba: Visit Hagerstown) is the official non-profit destination marketing organization (DMO) for Washington County, Maryland. Privatized in 1997 and governed by a 15-member Board of Directors representing local tourism and broader business interests, the organization promotes the county to leisure travelers, group tour operators, and convention and meeting planners. It operates from a headquarters at 16 Public Square in downtown Hagerstown and runs physical visitor centers including the Newcomer House at Antietam National Battlefield in partnership with the National Park Service.

The CVB's product surface is a multi-channel destination marketing platform. Core digital products include the visithagerstown.com website, a location-aware mobile application for iOS and Android, an interactive Trip Builder itinerary tool supporting up to 14-day custom itineraries, a comprehensive Event Calendar, a searchable Member Directory, a Virtual Visitor Center with downloadable guides, and an RFP submission system for convention and meeting planners. Service offerings include group travel coordination (covering educational groups, student groups, performance venues, and sports events), the Certified Destination Ambassador (CDA) training program delivered through Hagerstown Community College beginning July 2026, and the Hub City Selfie Hunt gamified visitor activity. Marketing reach extends across web, print visitor guides (2026–2027 edition), broadcast media, social media, and partnership channels including Visit Maryland, Canal Towns, and the Potomac Heritage Trail.

The business model is a membership-funded non-profit. Local tourism businesses — hotels, restaurants, attractions, retailers, and service providers — pay recurring annual membership dues (pricing not publicly disclosed) in exchange for marketing exposure through the CVB's web, print, and broadcast channels. The CVB's operating budget has grown from approximately $400,000 at privatization in 1997 to more than $1.4 million annually, with roughly 84% of funds spent directly on operations, advertising, marketing programs, and publications. The organization does not sell advertising, take government appropriations, or earn commissions on bookings; its economic model is to drive county-wide visitor spending (reported at $321 million annually across 1.3 million visitors) by aggregating and amplifying the marketing efforts of its member businesses.

Name

Visit Hagerstown and Washington County Maryland

Legal name

Hagerstown/Washington County Convention & Visitors Bureau

Website

https://visithagerstown.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Visit Hagerstown and Washington County Maryland is the official non-profit destination marketing organization for Washington County, MD, promoting the region to leisure visitors, group tour operators, and convention planners through a website, mobile app, trip builder, visitor guides, and a membership network of local tourism businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Destination Marketing Services

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Permitting, Reservations & Visitor Information Services (Passes, Booking, Visitor Centers) (THAAAGAD)

Keywords

• Destination marketing services
• Visitor information services
• Convention meeting planning
• Tourism promotion services
• Group travel coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Hagerstown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Local businesses pay membership dues to join the CVB and receive marketing exposure through the organization's web, print, and broadcast marketing channels. The budget has grown from $400,000 to more than $1.4 million annually since privatization in 1997.
2. Tourism Revenue Generation: The CVB generates economic impact by promoting tourism, resulting in $321 million in visitor spending annually. This supports the organization's mission of economic development through increased visitor spending.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Hagerstown/Washington County Convention & Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization for Washington County, Maryland. It promotes the region through multi-channel marketing (web, print, broadcast) and operates a tourism platform including a website, mobile app, Trip Builder itinerary tool, event calendar, and Virtual Visitor Center. The CVB also provides visitor information services through physical visitor centers, a membership program for local businesses, convention/meeting planning support, and group travel coordination.

Product overview

Visit Hagerstown and Washington County Maryland is the official destination marketing organization (Convention & Visitors Bureau) for Washington County. It operates a comprehensive tourism platform consisting of a destination marketing website, mobile applications for iPhone and Android, an interactive Trip Builder itinerary tool, a Virtual Visitor Center, and an extensive member directory. The CVB also offers the Certified Destination Ambassador training program and manages visitor centers including the Newcomer House at Antietam National Battlefield. The platform promotes local attractions, accommodations, restaurants, events, and activities while providing planning resources such as maps, guides, and event calendars for leisure visitors, group travelers, and convention planners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Visit Hagerstown Mobile App

Quantifiable outcome

• Tourism supports 4,788 jobs (7.7% of county workforce)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Visit MarylandcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial tourism partnership with Maryland state tourism organization for cross-promotion of Washington County destinations.
• Canal TownscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Canal Towns initiative promoting C&O Canal corridor communities and attractions.
• Potomac Heritage TrailcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with National Park Service for promotion of Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.
• National Park ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative agreement between NPS and the CVB for the Newcomer House at Antietam National Battlefield, serving as the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area Exhibit and Visitor Center.
• Hagerstown Community CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partnership for the Certified Destination Ambassador Program, which is administered through the college's hospitality and recreation certification courses.
• Sustaining MembersminorOthersLocal businesses that provide sustaining support to the CVB, as listed on the sustaining members page.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Visit Frederick: Destination marketing organization for Frederick County, Maryland — a neighboring county of comparable size and demographic profile. Operates a CVB with similar services (visitor info, mobile app, group tours, member directory), making it the closest geographic and functional peer.
• Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County: Maryland county-level DMO with comparable mission, structure (private non-profit CVB), and member-based funding model. Direct peer in scope and operating approach.
• Visit Montgomery (Maryland): DMO for Montgomery County, MD — same state, same non-profit CVB structure, similar membership and visitor services model. Comparable mid-sized county DMO peer.
• Visit Harford: Harford County, Maryland DMO with similar scale, member-funded CVB structure, and Civil War–era heritage assets. Closely comparable mid-Atlantic county DMO peer.
• Choose Cumberland (Allegany County): DMO for Allegany County in western Maryland — comparable small-budget, member-funded county DMO with overlapping heritage and outdoor recreation positioning. Direct scale peer.
• Destination Gettysburg: Adams County, PA DMO anchored on Civil War heritage (Gettysburg National Battlefield). Direct functional peer given shared NPS battlefield partnership, heritage-driven narrative, and group tour focus.
• Discover Lehigh Valley: Pennsylvania DMO of similar scale and member-funded structure serving a multi-county region. Comparable in operating model, mobile app and trip-builder offerings, and convention/meeting services.
• Visit Loudoun: Loudoun County, Virginia DMO with comparable mid-sized county scope, member-funded model, and rural-to-suburban destination mix (wineries, Civil War history, agritourism). Closely aligned peer in profile.

Broad incumbents

• Visit Baltimore: Larger Maryland DMO (city-scale). Overlaps in convention sales, group tour services, and visitor info, but with a substantially bigger budget, full convention bureau function, and national marketing reach.
• Visit Maryland: State-level DMO that is both a competitor (for visitor mindshare) and an active partner of the CVB. Statewide marketing scale and budget are an order of magnitude larger, making it the natural broader incumbent reference point.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Visit Hagerstown and Washington County Maryland