The Washington, D.C. Convention & Tourism Corp. is launching the city’s most expensive ad campaign since its post-Sept. 11 recovery efforts in an attempt to bolster overnight visitors during the slow summer season.
“Summer is a very important season for Washington,” said Victoria Isley, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C. Convention & Tourism Corp. “We have a lot of visitors that stay with friends and relatives or come in for day trips. But it’s a time when we need to concentrate on overnight visitors that stay in hotels, because those are the most lucrative visitors for the city.”
The $1.4 million printcampaign — up from last summer’s total advertising budget of $250,000 — showcases “Washington, D.C. Celebrates American Originals,” a citywide cultural tourism initiative centered around the July 1 opening of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.
The initiative officially kicked off on Memorial Day, but ads have already been placed in high-end publications such as Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler and Smithsonian magazine.
After Sept. 11, the organization spent nearly $2.5 million to market the city. It decided to mount another expensive campaign — despite the fact that Washington has bounced back and exceeded its pre-Sept. 11 visitor numbers — because the city is coming off a banner year that brought in record numbers of visitors with several high-profile events, Isley said.
In 2005, the city hosted an inauguration, several NCAA basketball tournament games, the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ annual conference — the biggest convention in the city since the new convention center opened. In 2006, the Cherry Blossom Festival will be the only repeat event.
Hotel occupancy in Washington is typically low in July and August, as well as in December and January. Last year, hotel occupancy in July and August hovered around 80 percent.
The campaign is specifically targeting key feeder markets with regional ad placements in New York, Philadelphia, Raleigh, N.C., Richmond and Atlanta.
Reaching out to those who drive to Washington is particularly important this year. As gas and energy prices continue to rise and consumer confidence dips, travelers will be staying closer to home, said Cathy Keefe, a spokeswoman for the Travel Industry Association of America.
Between 82 percent and 86 percent of summer travelers are expected to drive to Washington rather than fly, Keefe said.
Behind the blitz
Who’s paying for Washington’s tourism push?
» Washington, D.C. Convention & Tourism Corp. — $500,000
» Washington Convention Center Authority — $500,000
» Metro, Guest Services Inc. and American Express — combined total of $400,000
