Dear Members,
We’re taking every opportunity to focus on the facts about our destination, echo Mayor Bowser’s messaging and show visitors everywhere that Washington, DC remains a wonderful place to visit right now. In fact, our “Love Letter to DC” reel on Instagram has inspired 20,000 engagements and counting. Our industry can find messaging on LinkedIn. The convention sales and services team is proactively reaching out to customers meeting in DC the next three months.
As summer winds down, we're continuing to promote all the reasons to plan a getaway to DC with Restaurant Week this week (Aug. 18-24), DC JazzFest (Aug. 27-31) and a travel-worthy Labor Day weekend full of events. You can take full advantage of your membership and upload your deals for the rest of summer and into fall on washington.org. Position your business with enticing offers and discounts to welcome customers on their last (or first) trips of the season. Deals are featured on seasonal landing pages, providing you with great exposure to potential visitors.
Register for the Marketing Outlook Meeting, Destination DC’s (DDC) largest annual member event, on Aug. 26 at Capital Turnaround. You’ll hear about our plans to continue increasing visitation, industry updates and travel forecasts for 2026 – America’s 250 anniversary year we’ve all been waiting for. Ticket proceeds benefit our affiliated nonprofit, the American Experience Foundation.
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Elliott L. Ferguson, II
President & CEO
Destination DC
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Join Josh Brown, Marketing and Communications Consultant for DC JazzFest, and Georgia Lucas, DDC Visitor Experience Manager, as they discuss DC JazzFest and other upcoming events in the District.
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Join us at Capital Turnaround to receive important industry updates. Attendees will:
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- Celebrate wins from 2025
- Look ahead to DC250 – how your business can benefit from this year-long, historic occasion
- Discover how DDC is deepening the personal story of #Only1DC
- Get the latest DC visitor data and STR hotel stats
- Hear from city leaders
- Connect with industry peers
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Join DDC for a memorable morning celebrating almost 250 years of expert American craftsmanship and art through the Renwick's new exhibit State Fairs: Growing American Craft.
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This new hire training program introduces DC as a tourist destination. It includes a 10-minute visitor orientation video, ideal for new hire onboarding, and the in-depth Special Agent Academy series, created to help deepen your staff's knowledge about DC.
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Hiring? Gain visibility through DDC's industry careers job board. Send your job listing to jobboard@washington.org and include:
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- Company name
- Job title
- Description
- Link to the posting
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You're invited to celebrate all things jazz this Labor Day weekend. You won't want to miss all-star headliners on the main stages at DC JazzFest at The Wharf on Saturday, Aug. 30 and Sunday, Aug. 31.
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Revolution Event Design & Production crafts unforgettable galas, celebrations and activations, fully immersing guests in your brand's story and creating powerful, lasting emotional connections.
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Planning your fall meeting, holiday gathering or 2026 kick off?
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Slots are filling fast at Convene's DC and Rosslyn locations. Secure your premium event venue before it's gone.
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- On Aug. 1, the Only1DC campaign switched to fall creative, including digital display, video, paid social media, podcasts and online travel agencies such as Priceline.
- Custom content includes recent videos produced with The New York Times that focus on wellness and DC's dining scene.
- Event campaigns that highlight Summer Restaurant Week, DC JazzFest and Theatre Week are running with digital displays, e-blasts, paid social media placements and Washingtonian newsletters to the local drive market audience.
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- Popular with Leisure Audiences:
- Industry Updates:
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In July, the team tracked over 147 presentations, virtual client sales calls and in-person meetings.
Recent activities:
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- Destinations International Annual Meeting – July 9-11, Chicago, IL
- Atlanta Sales Mission – July 14-15, Atlanta, GA
- United Kingdom & Ireland Sales Mission – July 20-25, United Kingdom and Dublin, Ireland
- AMC Institute Engaged – July 21-22, Savannah, GA
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Convene with Sponsorship – July 31 – Aug. 1, Lisbon, Portugal
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DDC’s tourism team continues to meet with clients from around the world to highlight travel to DC. This month, team members will:
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- Travel to Australia to meet with media, tour operators and travel agents
- Host agents from India for a reverse sales mission
- Attend Connect Marketplace, the SYTA Annual Conference and Virtuoso Travel Week
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Top visitor questions last month:
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- What are the accessibility ticket options available for DC JazzFest?
- Which DC JazzFest performances require tickets?
- How can I register to volunteer or vend at DC JazzFest?
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Industry Social Channels: @DestinationDC
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Leisure Social Channels: @visitwashingtondc
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