DC tourism numbers fall but local group launches plan to recuperate next year
The article discusses a decline in international tourism in Washington, D.C., despite strong domestic visitor numbers. in 2024, the city saw a record 27.2 million visitors, generating $11.4 billion in tourism spending, $2.3 billion in tax revenue, and supporting over 111,000 jobs. However, international tourism has dropped due to factors like a slowing job market, tariffs, inflation, and negative political rhetoric, particularly under former President donald Trump’s administration.
To address this downturn expected in 2025, Destination DC, a local tourism group, unveiled a recovery strategy for 2026 at their annual Marketing Outlook Meeting. They launched a new campaign titled “There’s Only One DC,” aiming to highlight the city’s welcoming residents rather than its political image,countering the negative perceptions associated with national politics.
Additionally, Destination DC plans to leverage the United States’ 250th anniversary in 2026 by expanding special events, exhibitions, and activations throughout the city’s cultural institutions and attractions. They also anticipate that the completion of notable projects, such as the Lincoln memorial Museum and renovations to the Tidal Basin and Air and Space Museum, will help boost tourism in the future.
DC tourism numbers fall but local group launches plan to recuperate next year
A tourism group in Washington, D.C., is looking to humanize the city to boost visitors.
Destination DC said domestic tourism was strong. In 2024, a record 27.2 million people visited the city, with tourism spending totaling $11.4 billion, which resulted in $2.3 billion in tax revenue and supported 111,500 jobs. However, international tourism declined in the city following a nationwide downtrend since President Donald Trump took office.
At the group’s annual Marketing Outlook Meeting at Capital Turnaround on Tuesday, it unveiled its 2026 strategies to recover from the downturn in tourism during 2025.
“We can say in summary that it has been slow,” said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics. He noted that a slowing job market, combined with Trump’s tariffs and inflation, has affected consumer spending.
Tourism Economics said the city has seen a 5.1% decrease in international visitation in 2025.
Destination DC is launching a “There’s Only One DC” marketing campaign to humanize the city.
The campaign will tie “the experience to the 700,000 Washingtonians who welcome everyone, not the 534 members of Congress that are in this city,” said Elliot Ferguson, president of Destination DC.
Ferguson said Trump’s current rhetoric about the city is bad for its tourism. He added that tourism in the district made it through other large-scale events, including 9/11, government shutdowns, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“But never have we been in a space where, as the leader of our country, in our backyard, is giving a false sense of what Washington has to offer as a city,” he said.
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Destination DC also said it plans to use the United States’s 250th birthday celebration as a tourism draw. The group said it will offer an expanded calendar of special events, activations, and exhibitions across the city’s cultural institutions, museums, attractions, restaurants, and hotels.
The group also said it expects the completion of construction on a few notable tourist attractions, including the Lincoln Memorial Museum, the Tidal Basin for cherry blossoms, and the Air and Space Museum, to increase tourism.
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