These days, you can see buses parked all over the city, whether it’s on streets around the National Mall like Independence Avenue, or a little further away by the Tidal Basin. They’re just everywhere, and it’s a reflection of D.C.’s growing popularity with out-of-town visitors.
In fact, last year the city saw more tourists than ever before, with nearly 26 million people finding a way to visit the city, officials announced Wednesday. That’s up about 17% from 2022, and surpasses the old record set in 2019 before the pandemic.
“That’s a huge deal,” exclaimed D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, as she spoke Wednesday at Destination D.C.’s tourism announcement on the National Mall at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian.
They’re also spending more money than ever before, too, with over $10 billion in spending last year at hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues and elsewhere.
“Ten plus billion dollars being spent by visitors equates to well over $600 million in taxes generated which means as Washingtonians, we see services being offered to the city that don’t impact my personal taxes as a Washingtonian,” said Elliott Ferguson II, the president and CEO of Destination D.C. “We all benefit from that.”
The city also said tourism helped support over 102,300 jobs last year.
Ferguson said it took about a decade for D.C.’s tourism industry to recover from Sept. 11. It wasn’t until 2011 that visitors surpassed the number that came in 2000.
“The fact that we’re now seeing numbers surpass 2019 this quickly after the pandemic is a big deal for us, because that means there is more interest in visitation, economically people are able to travel and we’re benefiting from those looking to get back on the road,” he said.
Focus on international visitors
The tourism boost is coming from domestic travelers, which helped the city surpass the 2019 numbers. International travel still hasn’t rebounded to pre-pandemic numbers, but it’s moving closer again. And that’s who the city really wants to target.
“We love all visitors but, selfishly, international visitors stay longer and spend more,” said Ferguson.
About 7% of the city’s tourists come from outside the U.S.
“That’s the area which we are wanting to grow fastest,” Ferguson said.
He said the city already has a marketing presence in London, as well as places like New Zealand, Australia, and even India, where he says demand to visit D.C. is growing.
But a big focus is on drawing more tourists from China, and part of that with efforts being made to increase the number of nonstop flights between the U.S. and China. He said these days, there aren’t as many of them as there used to be.
“We are really being bullish on working with the U.S. Travel Association and the Department of Commerce,” to make that happen, he added. “If you can’t physically get here nonstop … that makes a big difference.”
He also said the process of getting a visa is slow, and believes that’s a hindrance, too.
“We want to make sure that all visitors are coming and visiting for the right reasons, so we respect the process of having to go through getting a visa,” he admitted. “We just have to make it easier through making the visa process faster.”
He said within the next two years, the hope is D.C. will be back to where it was in terms of the overall number of international travelers.
“There is a demand for international travelers to want to come back to the United States. That’s the good news. We just have to make it easier.”
Seeing more of the city
Once they come, city leaders are working to get more tourists to check out more parts of the city — neighborhoods that sit outside the museums and monuments.
“There’s so much going on in D.C. that really speaks to our creativity, and who we are as people and who we are as a community and that’s what we want to invite people to come and explore,” said Nina Albert, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.
Albert said there’s a long history of tourists wanting to know what an authentic neighborhood is like.
“That’s why Eastern Market is so popular, or Georgetown, because it has that history,” Albert said. “Dupont Circle is a really strong brand name among visitors.”
She said the return of pandas to the National Zoo is an invitation for people to check out neighborhoods like Cleveland Park or Woodley Park. The city is working to expand marketing of various events happening around the city’s various neighborhoods, whether it’s something artistic happening at the Anacostia Arts District, or live music in any number of places.
Bowser also said the city is seeing more hotels and restaurants open up, and she expects bigger events to come to the city. The mayor’s budget includes about $3.5 million to help host large events — ones that draw 10,000 or more people — throughout the city.
“That is to bring more people into the city, all across the city, and there would be a reason to go, around a festival,” Albert said. “Once people get into a neighborhood they obviously go and explore the shops and everything around it.”
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