Harford County has launched a new tourism initiative despite an ongoing lawsuit with the organization that had provided that service, Visit Harford.

Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly launched Hello Harford last week during a gathering with more than 120 representatives from local hotels, museums, attractions and other tourism-related organizations.

Hello Harford will be funded by revenue generated by the county’s 6% hotel tax.

The new initiative, which Cassilly called “hi-tech, strategic and inclusive,” will be overseen by the county’s Department of Economic Development and managed by the county’s new tourism manager, Jodi Marschhauser.

Hello Harford will use Pacer AI that allows event organizers to understand visitor foot traffic and behavior in real time, according to a news release from Cassilly. The software will allow organizers to see when people are coming to events and where they are coming from.

A second software, called Let’s Rallie, gives visitors and organizers of larger events an interactive map showing exactly where each vendor is and allows real-time notifications and announcements, schedule changes and pop-up activities.

Cassilly’s tourism initiative is based on a study conducted by a Columbia-based marketing firm, Mariner Marketing, which he said led to the identification of potential visitors and targeted social media posts and digital marketing. The research, Cassilly said, will be used to reach and attract customers who might not otherwise have known about, or come to Harford County.

Harford County’s tourism program had been run by the nonprofit Visit Harford. Through a contract with the county government, Visit Harford was to   be paid $645,000 per year via three installments of $215,000.

Cassilly ended the contract, citing a lack of transparency and efficiency, and withheld an installment to Visit Harford.

Cassilly’s administration stated the $215,000 payment was contingent upon the county taking full ownership of Visit Harford’s logo and website:

“With respect to the one issue which has proven a sticking point (i.e., ownership and control of Visit Harford’s website and logo), the options we discussed for resolving the matter were as follows: (a) Visit Harford would assign its website and logo to the County and the County would disburse the $215,000, or (b) Visit Harford would retain its website and logo and waive disbursement of the $215,000,” states a June 25, 2024, email from Raj Goel, deputy director of economic development for the county, to Visit Harford’s executive director.

Visit Harford declined the offer and launched a lawsuit against the Cassilly administration the following month.

According to Visit Harford, Cassilly has yet to pay Visit Harford. A September trial date has been set for the Visit Harford lawsuit.

Visit Harford’s board president, Jay Ellenby, criticized Cassilly’s move to start Hello Harford, which he said could end up costing the county more. 

“The car was one of the first things Cassilly had an issue with when he told us he didn’t like where money was being spent,” Ellenby said. “He told us we don’t need a car, so we sold the car, and we still didn’t get paid by the county, and here they are with a Hello Harford car.”

Ellenby stated that Visit Harford had been using the same kind of technology to track and promote events. He speculated that the cost of Hello Harford’s technology, car, Mariner Marketing study and staff, puts the county’s tourism spending at around $800,000 per year as opposed to the $645,000 it was spending on Visit Harford.

“What is the reason for this when there was a ready-made, proven, successful, and much more efficient organization in place?” Ellenby said.

The county government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how much it has spent on Hello Harford.

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