BALTIMORE — The Inner Harbor in Baltimore is close enough for many visitors to make a day trip, but a promotion is trying to get those tourists to spend the night.
Millions of people come to Baltimore each year to catch an Orioles or Ravens game and stroll along brick sidewalks lined with shops, seafood restaurants, museums and other attractions surrounding one of the nation’s oldest seaports.
Now, there is an incentive to stay in town.
Beginning Memorial Day weekend, for $46 for adults and $30 for children ages 3 through 12, a Harbor Pass includes admission to the National Aquarium, the Maryland Science Center, the Port Discovery children’s museum, the Top of the World observation exhibit and a day of trips on Ed Kane’s Water Taxi line.
“Once people experience what’s going on in neighborhoods, all the different levels of history and heritage, arts and culture, the attractions, the shopping — I think they’ll realize Baltimore is not a one-day destination,” said Mike Pietryka, the director of visitor services for the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association.
Mr. Pietryka said a $4.5 million visitor center opening May 7 will act as a travel agency for visitors, making hotel and dining reservations and selling the Harbor Pass and tickets to other attractions and events.
The Harbor Pass saves tourists about 20 percent overall. The pass also is good for discounts at other attractions, hotels, restaurants and nightspots.
Until May 28, visitors can purchase an edition of the package that doesn’t include the water taxi service and some of the discounts for $35 for adults and $25 for ages 3 through 12.
By making the visitor center a one-stop location with information, an orientation film, ticket sales and a help desk, officials are hoping day-trippers — most of whom live within 75 miles — spend more time and more money in Baltimore.
“It’s their job to put heads in beds, and it has a spillover effect into restaurants and businesses,” said Danielle Cohn, a spokeswoman for Philadelphia’s Convention and Visitors Bureau.
That city has its own promotion — “Philly’s more fun when you sleep over” — in which visitors who book a night in a hotel get a second night and hotel parking free.
Mr. Pietryka said Baltimore’s new visitor center will build on the city’s annual $3 billion tourism industry by encouraging day-trippers — largely from southern Pennsylvania, the District and Northern Virginia — to see more and spend the night.
“We think Baltimore is such a good product. We want to impress people so much that they not only come back, but they bring people with them,” he said. “That’s the whole concept.”
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