WASHINGTON — Last year saw another record for D.C. tourism, though the number of bigger-spending international visitors fell a bit.
Destination DC says 22 million tourists visited the District in 2016, up 3.3 percent from 2015. It was the seventh consecutive year that the record was broken.
Domestic tourists totaled 20 million, up 3.6 percent from the previous year. But the number of international tourists fell 1.7 percent, to 2 million, according to the data Destination DC quoted from TravelMarket Insights.
Overseas visitors accounted for 9 percent of the total number of D.C. tourists last year, but 28 percent of total visitor spending.
Nationwide, the number of international tourists last year decreased by 2.1 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
China continues to account for the largest share of D.C. tourists, with 304,000 visitors last year. China is followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, France, India, South Korea, Australia, Italy, Spain and Japan.
The biggest jump in international visitors came from India, up 24.5 percent from 2015. Visitors from India will likely grow even more, after the first-ever nonstop flight between Washington and Delhi launched this summer.
Destination DC’s fiscal year 2018 budget will increase by $3 million, to $23 million, after an increase in the city’s hotel tax from 14.5 percent to 14.8 percent. Destination DC will spend much of that extra money on an increase in international marketing.
