WASHINGTON -- Some
15.4 million people visited the nation's capital in 2005, an
increase of 2.7% over the previous year, according to newly
released tourism statistics for the city.
A separate study
also indicated that those travelers spent at least $5.05 billion,
which in turn generated $543 million in local tax revenue, up 4.6%
from 2005.
The two studies
combined present an unusually detailed look at this city's tourism
industry relative to the Washington, D.C. region.
Key findings of the
visitor study, conducted by D.K. Shifflet & Associates in
association with the Travel Industry Association, found that: 
Visitors are
typically 35-years-old and older (79%), less likely to be married
(70%) or have children (34%).
At least 67% have
household incomes of $75,000 or more and 66% are college
graduates.
Travelers
typically arrived by airplane (36%), stayed at least one night
(68%) and traveled alone (40%).
The majority
hailed from 16 states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia,
Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York,
North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and
Virginia.
The impact of those
15 million visitors is significant to the city's
economy.
According to
William Hanbury, president & CEO of the Washington DC
Convention & Tourism Corp., "If not for travel and tourism,
Washington D.C.'s 254,247 households would have to pay $2,135 in
additional taxes" in order to maintain such basic services as the
police department and the Dep. of Motor Vehicles, among
others.
Overall, tourism
accounts for 13% of the city's tax receipts, including 41% of all
sales taxes collected.
Hanbury told TravelWeekly.com that Washington's strong travel
market has been largely helped by the fact that the city opens a
new attraction at least every few years, if not months.
"Whether it is the
World War II Memorial or the [National Museum of the American
Indian] or the Smithsonian American Art Museum, all of those are
extraordinary assets for us," he said. "And really, we believe,
position us in the pre-eminent status as America's top arts and
cultural destination."
Hanbury said the
opening of such attractions offsets the fact that the city doesn't
have a significant promotional budget.
"Part of our
challenge is we don't have the kinds of financial resources that
Orlando and Las Vegas have," he said. "So we have to have
innovative marketing. We have to do a lot of guerilla marketing. We
have to be creative about how we spend our money."
To that end,
Hanbury said, his office is working with the city and its private
sector partners "to find new financial resources. Our budget is up
a little in 2007 -- It will be about $12 million -- but it is not
where it needs to be. Orlando has $50 million and Las Vegas is at
$200 million. We need to expend more resources."
While several
options are on the table, Hanbury indicated one is a non-starter:
increasing the city's taxes on hotel stays.
"Absolutely not,"
he said.
To
contact reporter Michael Milligan, send e-mail to [email protected].