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DC breaks tourism record with nearly 22 million domestic visitors in 2018

2018 marks 9th consecutive year of increasing tourism in the District.

WASHINGTON -- The District set a new tourism record in 2018, attracting nearly 22 million domestic visitors last year, according to new numbers from Destination DC.

The city’s destination marketing organization announced the numbers Tuesday. According to the organization, it was D.C.’s ninth-consecutive year of tourism growth, and a 1.1 million visitor increase from 2017.

“An additional 1.1 million domestic visitors to DC year-over-year is a big deal for the city,” said Elliott L. Ferguson, II, president and CEO of Destination DC. “As we market the city through our ‘Discover the Real DC campaign,’ we continue to show potential visitors that there’s so much more to see and do in Washington, DC beyond the federal government and build on our momentum that’s sustaining visitation to the city.”

Tourism, convention business and other visitors accounted for more than $850 million in local taxes last year, Destination DC said. Tourism alone is estimated to support more than 76,000 jobs in D.C.

The National Mall and Smithsonian museums continue to be the city’s largest individual draws, with the mall alone attracting more than 32 million visitors in 2017. All Smithsonian locations reported nearly 30 million visitors the same year.

Credit: The Smithsonian Institute


The Smithsonian reported a dip of about 1.5 million visitors across all of its locations in 2018, despite a million additional visitors at the National Portrait Gallery – credited to the museum’s additions of the portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The National Air and Space Museum remained the Smithsonian network’s most popular attraction, drawing in more than 6.2 million visitors in 2018. The Museum of Natural History ranked second with 4.8 million visitors in 2018.

Since 2013, China has become the top overseas origin point for tourists, with more than 300,000 people visiting D.C. from the country in 2017. Travelers from the United Kingdom (166,000) and South Korea (136,000) make up the number two and three spots, respectively. The numbers don’t include Canada and Mexico.

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