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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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D.C. domestic tourism hits record high

The District welcomed a record number of domestic visitors to the city in 2016.
Hatchet File Photo
The District welcomed a record number of domestic visitors to the city in 2016.

A record-number of visitors flocked to the District last year, setting a new all-time high for the seventh year in a row, according to a study released Tuesday.

Twenty million domestic tourists visited D.C. in 2016 – a 3.6 percent increase from the 19.3 million visitors the year before, according to a release from marketing organization Destination DC and analytics firm IHS Markit.

The total number of visitors, both foreign and domestic, will not be not be released until August, the Washington Business Journal reported.

Last year, domestic tourists spent a total of $7.3 billion during their visits to D.C., 2.8 percent increase from 2015, according to the study.

The District will host 21 conferences citywide in 2017, hosted by organizations like Microsoft and the American College of Cardiology and Otakon, which the city will host for the first time. The conferences are expected to rake in $340 million for the city, according to the release.

Twenty citywide conferences have already been scheduled in the District for 2018.

“Every visitor to the District of Columbia plays a vital role in spreading inclusive prosperity throughout the local economy by staying in our hotels, dining in our restaurants, visiting our attractions and shopping in our stores,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said in the release.

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