The nation’s capital welcomed more tourists than ever before in 2023.
Destination DC, the official destination marketing organization for Washington, DC said the city received 25.95 million visitors last year, up 17% from 2022.
It surpassed the pre-pandemic record set in 2019.
The new benchmark resulted in a record $10.2 billion in visitor spending and supported a record 102,366 local jobs.
Of the record 25.95 million total visitors, the vast majority were domestic travelers.
Domestic visitation has fully rebounded to 105% of 2019 figures.
International visitation was 1.95 million which is 85% of 2019 levels.
International travelers typically stay longer and spend twice as much on average as domestic visitors.
The top international market was Canada, followed by the United Kingdom, India, Germany and France.
In another boost for DC tourism, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute just announced two giant pandas are returning by the end of the year.
The Zoo will be one of only two in the US to house the iconic animals, and the only one with free entry.
