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Commissioners approve $525,954 MOU with Visit St. Mary’s for fiscal year 2026 tourism work
Summary
The county approved a memorandum of understanding continuing Visit St. Mary’s MD as the county’s official destination marketing organization for FY‑26 and agreed to provide $525,954 in accommodations‑tax funds and no‑cost office space; Visit St. Mary’s outlined marketing, grants and partnership activities for the year.
The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County on June 24 approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Visit St. Mary’s MD to serve as the county’s official destination marketing organization for fiscal year 2026.
Department of Economic Development Director Chris Casalemas told the board the MOU authorizes Visit St. Mary’s to carry out tourism duties on behalf of the county and establishes county funding of $525,954 for FY‑26, an increase from the FY‑25 allocation of $480,312 tied to a rise in accommodations tax revenue. The agreement also provides no‑cost office space for Visit St. Mary’s in the Economic Development offices and continues a county seat on the Visit St. Mary’s board.
Liz Miltenstein, executive director of Visit St. Mary’s, presented an annual update outlining how the organization will invest the funds: regional paid advertising, sponsorships for county events, a tourism ambassador program to train frontline staff in local visitor services, visitor data tracking through a private analytics partner, and two grants secured in FY‑25 for promotional work (a Maryland Alcohol Manufacturing Promotion Fund award and a regional state tourism grant to produce video content). She described target markets (Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Norfolk) and said the organization aims to reinvest lodging tax funds into county events and partner marketing.
Casalemas and Miltenstein said the FY‑26 MOU included minor language updates in accountability and Exhibit A listing FY‑26 strategic objectives; staff told commissioners revised exhibits would be presented clearly in future renewals. Commissioners approved the MOU and authorized the commission president to sign related documents.
Why it matters: The MOU commits county lodging‑tax revenue to county tourism promotion and specifies strategic activities — advertising, event sponsorship, partner support and data analytics — intended to attract overnight visitors and support local businesses that rely on tourism.
