D.C. drew a record number of visitors in 2018, even as foreign travel fell

Pedestrians walk on the Mall this summer in Washington. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Almost 24 million tourists visited the District last year, the city’s official marketing organization said Tuesday. It was the ninth consecutive record year for the city, even as the number of foreign visitors fell.

Destination DC, a nonprofit organization funded by the city’s hotel occupancy tax, said 23.8 million people came to Washington in 2018, an increase of 1 million compared with a year earlier. Those visitors spent $7.8 billion, paid $851 million in local taxes and supported more than 76,000 jobs, according to the organization.

Without tourists, District taxpayers would have to pay more than $2,800 per household to maintain the current level of tax receipts, Destination DC officials said. The number of visitors to the city has increased annually since 2011, when the District recorded a then-record 17.9 million tourists.

“We will continue creating new destinations and giving travelers reason to return, because when our tourism industry does well so do our local businesses and workers,” Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said in a statement.

Almost 22 million of the District’s visitors came from other parts of the country, while about 2 million foreign travelers came to the city last year, a decrease of more than 5 percent from a year earlier. The number of visitors from China — the city’s largest overseas market — was down 25 percent with 226,000 visitors from that country, even as those who came stayed longer and booked more nights in hotels.

International visitors represent 8 percent of tourist visits to the District but 27 percent of the visitor spending.

The decline in foreign visitors to Washington came as foreign arrivals in the United States, as measured by the Commerce Department’s National Travel and Tourism Office, set a record of nearly 80 million in 2018.

Elliott L. Ferguson II, president of Destination DC, said the District’s many free sightseeing destinations are a major draw for travelers from around the world. Though the number of foreign visitors dropped last year, people around the world remain interested in coming to the city, he said.

“The international community is not saying they’re not wanting to come to us or Washington,” he said. “They’re just delaying.”

The numbers were announced as Destination DC unveiled a “Stay Local DC” advertising campaign with the goal of driving local and regional business to the city during the slower January and February months.