Destination DC

Destination DC serves as the lead organization to successfully manage and market Washington, DC as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination, with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historical communities. By developing and executing centralized and cohesive sales and marketing strategies, Destination DC generates economic development for the city through tourism and meetings. In 2013, visitor spending totaled $6.7 billion, representing more than $711 million in new tax dollars for the District of Columbia. Washington, DC welcomed a record 19 million visitors in 2013 — a number that tops the District’s previous record of 18.5 million total visitors, set in 2012. Destination DC is a private, non-profit corporation with a membership of 850 businesses and organizations that support the DC travel and tourism sector. A contracting arm of Events DC, the organization is funded by a percentage of DC’s hotel occupancy tax, along with membership dues and co-operative marketing fees. Formerly known as the Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation (WCTC), the organization was re-named in 2008 to reflect the organization’s increased emphasis on the city’s unique assets. WCTC was established by business and community leaders in April 2001 by merging the Washington, DC Convention and Visitors Association and the DC Committee to Promote Washington. The Washington, DC Convention and Visitors Association was founded in 1931 to promote convention and leisure travel to the nation’s capital.