The Washington region welcomed tens of thousands more overseas visitors in 2009 than the year before, bucking a national trend during the worst stretch for the U.S. tourism industry since the September 11 attacks.
The number of foreign travelers visiting Virginia ballooned from 329,000 in 2008 to 380,000 in 2009, according to a new report published by the U.S. Commerce Department. That 16 percent growth spurt was the largest among U.S. states last year.
Maryland and the District saw international tourism rates rise 3 percent and 5 percent, respectively. The number of foreign tourists visiting Maryland jumped from 253,000 to 261,000, while D.C.’s number increased from 1.47 million to 1.54 million visitors.
A capital vacation
Location Overseas visitors 2009 Overseas visitors 2008 Change
Virginia 380,000 329,000 Up 16 percent
Maryland 261,000 253,000 Up 3 percent
District 1.54 million 1.47 million Up 5 percent
United States 54.9 million 57.9 million Down 6 percent
The United States, by contrast, saw 3 million fewer overseas visitors in 2009, a 6 percent drop from the year before. Tamra Talmadge-Anderson, a spokeswoman for Virginia’s tourism department, said Washington’s growing popularity among international travelers was a factor in her state’s tourism boost. She also credited a joint marketing effort among the Old Dominion, Maryland and the District.
“The capital region is a big draw for overseas visitors, and we’ve worked together to market to these visitors and bring them into Virginia,” she said.
Washington Dulles International Airport and a growing list of international flights also has been a major boon to local tourism, Talmadge-Anderson added, and could explain why Virginia’s growth numbers outpaced those of Maryland.
The District attracts about two-and-a-half times more foreign visitors than Maryland and Virginia combined each year. Last year, D.C. leapfrogged Honolulu as the seventh most popular city for foreign tourism.
Rebecca Pawlowski, communications director for D.C.’s tourism office, said Barack Obama’s election has pumped up excitement surrounding the U.S. capital among overseas tourists.
“The Obama inauguration has had a positive impact on impressions of Washington, D.C., and it’s definitely helped our image abroad,” Pawlowski said.
The overseas tourism industry throughout the rest of the United States fared much worse last year thanks to the worldwide recession.
“The global economic downturn created the most difficult environment for the tourism industry since the tragic attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,” according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
