D.C.’s Cherry Blossom Bus is scheduled to pull into New York City Monday.
The bus and its team of promoters spent Sunday in snowy Boston, where they encouraged people to visit the nation’s capital this spring.
“All those folks who travel the Acela Corridor, we’ll make sure we’re in front of them and remind them that Washington, D.C. is a great place to visit,” said John Falcicchio, deputy mayor for planning and economic development.
Falcicchio said he was excited to join representatives of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, Destination DC, Events DC and the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington on the tour bus.
“The bus is fantastic. It’s a newer bus — a pink bus with logos on the side that say ‘Spring it On,'” Falcicchio said. “And on the back of the bus is one of my favorite details, which says ‘Follow Us to Spring.'”
An estimated 25 million visitors came to D.C. in 2019, but two years after the height of the coronavirus pandemic, only 19 million showed up in 2022.
Mayor Bowser and the D.C. Council hope the bus tours will stimulate interest in visiting the District this spring.
“What we tell them is the best time of year to come to Washington, D.C. is the spring and into the summer,” said Falcicchio.
The pink-colored bus will arrive in D.C. Wednesday when the National Park Service announces the predicted bloom dates for the historic cherry blossom trees that line the Tidal Basin.
