1704                            JOINT RESOLUTIONS

Whereas, The State of Maryland is blessed by having within
its borders the magnificent Chesapeake Bay, which provides one of
the best recreational environments in the world, and

Whereas, The Bay area supports in abundance such fish and
game as: rockfish, white perch, blue crabs, wild ducks, Canadian
geese, and deer, and is a virtual hunter and fisherman's paradise, and

Whereas, The Bay Country with its many large and small tribu-
taries is unsurpassed in its attraction for those who love such water
activities as sailing, yachting, speed boat racing and swimming, and

Whereas, The beauty and serenity of the rural bay area provide a
refreshing change of pace for any urbanite attempting to escape
from the pressure of highly accelerated modern city life, and

Whereas, The region is truly the "cradle" of the United States
and provides many historic sites, which all Americans interested in
their nation's history should see, and

Whereas, This vacation wonderland lies within easy commuting
distance from the vast overcrowded megalopolis in which most of the
population of the Eastern United States reside, and

Whereas, Because of these facts Maryland and particularly the
Chesapeake Bay area should be one of the prime tourist areas in this
country, but in fact it is not, and

Whereas, It is a tragedy that the tourist potential of the Bay area
is nowhere near being reached and one of the main reasons is the
State's failure to sufficiently promote this region, and

Whereas, There are many events in the Bay area such as: Oyster
Sailing Fleet Races, Skipjack Sailing Festival, Clam Festival, Crab
Derby, Water Ski Tournament, National Muskrat Trappers
Championship, various scheduled cruises of the Bay and various sail
and motor regattas which do bring tourists but not as many as
could be brought with more promotional activity, and

Whereas, Maryland which is unique in having this wonderful
tourist attraction is obviously not cashing in on it and is only
thirty-eighth among states in money spent on travel development
and its spending on this item equals only one-fifth the amount its
sister state on the Bay, Virginia, spends, and

Whereas, With shorter and shorter work weeks and more time for
travel and recreation, tourism is becoming more and more one of the
leading industries in our nation, and

Whereas, Any money spent on tourism is a high yielding invest-
ment since an influx of tourist money into the Tidewater Counties
of Maryland would greatly help the economics of these counties and
the State as a whole, and

Whereas, In August 1967 one of the world's widest read travel
magazines "National Geographic" is publishing a story on the
Chesapeake Bay titled "Skipjack" by the highly respected author
Louis Marden and thus casting the view of the world upon us, and