DC’s 2021 domestic visitation anticipated to rise approximately 50 percent over 2020
Washington, DC – Destination DC (DDC) and city partners today announced efforts to attract visitors back to Washington, DC during its annual Travel Rally, held at Audi Field home of D.C. United, for a virtual audience. DDC previewed elements of a $2.5 million recovery advertising campaign launching later this spring in partnership with Events DC. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser joined DDC president and CEO Elliott L. Ferguson, II and industry leaders to discuss plans to jumpstart future travel to the city.
“As we continue to get more residents and workers vaccinated, we are ready for more people to shop, eat, play and stay in DC,” said Mayor Bowser. “We know how much the tourism and hospitality industries mean to DC, not only because they create jobs and support local businesses, but also because they help us tell the story of local DC. It’s been a difficult year, but now we look forwa
Destination DC, the tourism marketing arm of the District, has shed light on just how much damage the pandemic has caused to D.C.’s tourism industry, and what they plan to do to bring tourists back this year.
Between March 2020 and March 2021, visitor spending in D.C. was down 68%, or $6.1 billion. The District lost $477 million in tax revenue from visitor spending, down 48%. D.C. hotel revenue was down 84%, or $2.1 billion.
In addition, the District lost $603 million in additional economic impact as a result of 61 canceled citywide conventions and major events in 2020 and 2021.
The pandemic’s effect on tourism also impacted employment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 42,000 of the jobs lost in the District were in leisure and hospitality. That is 59% of all jobs lost to the pandemic last year.