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Stores aren’t the only beneficiaries of spending sprees around the holiday season — the District’s theaters, concert halls and even the zoo also get a significant boost. Thousands of Washington-area residents and tourists flock to the District’s theaters and concert halls in November and December to watch variations of “The Nutcracker” and other holiday shows. Tickets can range from $8 to more than $200 at venues including Ford’s Theatre, Warner Theatre and the Kennedy Center. The area’s music halls also attract a bevy of consumers with holiday-themed operas, symphonies, chamber orchestras, choirs and more.
The National Gallery of Art brings in cash by offering one of the city’s only ice-skating rinks, charging visitors up to $8 for two hours on the ice at the Sculpture Garden, or $195 for a season pass. And the National Zoo attracts an influx of visitors through ZooLights, a holiday-themed light display on its grounds every year.
Local merchants, on the other hand, take advantage of the season by setting up an open-air market during the weekends downtown, hosting live music and serving up hot food. The market is typically packed on any fair-weather Saturday in December.
The District’s economic boost from all its holiday attractions might be especially robust this year, according to the Greater Washington Board of Trade, a nonpartisan group representing local businesses.
Residents of the District, Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland are likely to spend more this holiday season than they did last year, according to the board’s most recent survey on consumer confidence.
The survey also found that local residents generally feel more positive about the economy and their finances than the average U.S. citizen.
“We have found that people this year are spending money on their ‘wants’, not just their ‘needs,'” said Jim Dinegar, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Washington Board of Trade. “That definitely bodes well for the economy around greater Washington.” – Hayley Peterson
