National Aquarium in Baltimore celebrates 60 million visitors, continued economic impact

BALTIMORE -- The National Aquarium is celebrating 60 million visitors since its opening in August 1981, according to a statement released Monday. 

Welcoming more than a million visitors each year, the attraction is a major revenue driver for Baltimore City and the state of Maryland. 

"As Maryland's largest paid cultural attraction, the National Aquarium generates $430 million annually in economic impact statewide," Aquarium President and CEO John Racanelli said in a statement. "We are so grateful that Marylanders and visitors from around the world return again and again to explore the wonders of our ocean planet and connect with the natural world exhibited within these walls. It is their visitor dollars that make the Aquarium an economic engine for the city and the state." 

The aquarium said its success is especially significant because it does not receive annual funding from city, state, or federal governments. Ticket sales and philanthropy support its operation, animal care, exhibits, and educational programs which reach about 100,000 Maryland students each year. 

In August, the aquarium unveiled its Harbor Wetland exhibit, a 10,000-square-foot floating wetland, which recreates the Inner Harbor's original Chesapeake Bay tidal marsh habitat. The exhibit has already seen more than 50,000 visitors.