When Baltimore officials unveiled the new city tourism slogan Wednesday, “Get in on it,” they didn?t mean Central Booking.
Though the Baltimore Convention and Visitors Bureau is touting its new branding initiative, unveiled Wednesday, a recent incident involving tourists from Virginia could negatively impact the positive image the city is trying to project, according to local tourism experts.
The incident in question, first reported by The Examiner, involves the arrest of Llara Brook, 20 and her boyfriend, Josh Kelly, 22 who traveled from Chantilly, Va., to Baltimore for an Orioles game on May 12. The couple claims they were treated rudely by a Baltimore Housing police officer when asking for directions.
The officer then arrested the couple for trespassing. After reviewing the arresting documents, the State?s Attorney?s Office declined to prosecute the case, but not before the couple spent eight hours in Baltimore?s Central Booking facility. The couple said they plan to file suit against the city.
“This certainly shows how critically important all contacts are with visitors, and how stories rightly or wrongly can quickly become amplified and take on much greater substance and echo around the country,” said Roger Friskey, who teaches public relations and brand imaging at the University of Baltimore. “It?s obviously not a very flattering story about Baltimore. ? Image stakes are very high these days in terms of competition for tourism and economic development, so any story like this does have serious consequences.”
Friskey said even before the incident, Baltimore had a contradictory image.
On one hand, it is portrayed as a city with a violent urban street life on shows such as “The Wire” and “Homicide,” but it was also recently lauded as one of the top summer travel destinations by Frommer?s Travel Guides.
Allan Miller, an assistant professor of travel and tourism marketing at Towson University, said the impact on the city?s image would be determined by how officials handle the situation.
“If we can get the word out that this is one-time incident and the police officer was wrong, then that?s good,” Miller said. “It?s the way public relations handles it that will determine the long-term impact of the incident.”
