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Destination DC warns budget cuts after Tourism Recovery District funds reallocated
Summary
Destination DC officials told the Council committee that the loss of Tourism Recovery District (TRD) dollars cut their advertising budget sharply and reduced international and domestic marketing capacity; they urged stable funding and pointed to ROI data showing tourism tax revenue gains from past campaigns.
Destination DC President and CEO Elliot Ferguson told the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor that the organization's advertising capacity plunged after TRD dollars were redirected, leaving the bureau with a smaller budget to promote the city.
"In the years that we had the TRD, visitation soared to record numbers," Ferguson said, adding that the organization received less than 1% of the 15.95% hotel tax and that the TRD previously tripled their advertising budget. He said domestic advertising fell “from $23,000,000 in fiscal year 25 to $7,000,000 in 2026,” and that fiscal‑year‑25 campaigns generated $41.3 million in tax revenue in a separate ROI study done with the CFO's office and Future Partners.
Committee Chair Anita Bonds and council members pressed Destination DC officials on the precise revenue implications and solicited data to justify requests for permanent or interim funding. John Kim, Destination DC's CFO, said that the extra TRD 1% previously generated about $22 million annually and that raising the share to 1.5% would add an estimated $10 million to the organization.
Ferguson said Destination DC still seeks to diversify markets, stressing international visitors’ higher per‑person spending: "If it's an international visitor, it could be as much as $6,000 depending on where they are globally." The panel emphasized the upcoming April budget discussions and urged the agency to provide clear metrics linking advertising dollars to hotel room nights and tax revenue.
