(Effective October 1, 1992)
Prepared by the Mayor and transmitted to the Council of the District of Columbia, pursuant to the provisions of Section 422(12) of the Charter of the District of Columbia.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OFFICE OF TOURISM AND PROMOTIONS
I. Establishment The Office of Tourism and Promotions ("Office") is hereby established in the Executive Branch of the Government under the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development (DMED). The Office shall be supervised and administered by a Director who shall be appointed by the Mayor to a position in the Executive Service pursuant to Title X of the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978, D.C. Law 2-139, effective March 3, 1979, (D.C. Code former sections 1-611.1 - 1.611.2, and subject to the advice and consent of the Council. The Mayor's Special Assistant for Tourism shall be the Acting Director pending confirmation by the Council.
II. Purpose The purpose of the Office is to increase revenues generated by tourism and related promotional, leisure and entertainment activities. The Office of Tourism and Promotions will coordinate the economic development efforts of the city in the areas of tourism and conventions and will better serve local firms engaged in the tourism industry by providing a more efficient delivery of public services.
The Office coordinates the development of an integrated advertising, marketing and promotional plan for the District which will lead to increased business and leisure travellers to the District. Travellers will be encouraged to patronize Washington business establishments, thereby increasing employment and business opportunities for District residents and businesses. Every effort will be made to stimulate increased opportunities for small, minority and women-owned District-based businesses.
This Office shall also have the responsibility for promoting Washington, D.C., as a venue for film, television and recording production. Promotion of Washington, D.C., as a site for entertainment-related business activities fits neatly with tourism promotion. Out-of-state film, television and record companies need to be "sold" on Washington, D.C.
The monuments and other attractions, affordable hotel and guest accommodations, and neighborhood diversity are all selling points to be emphasized by both the tourism and entertainment functions in District government. These functions will be jointly promoted under the Office of Tourism and Promotions.
III. Organization The Director shall be appointed by the Mayor and shall report to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development. The Director shall have oversight responsibility for the D.C. Committee to Promote Washington and the Office of Motion Picture and Television Development.
The Director shall initially hire two staff persons to carry out the functions of this Office. As need is demonstrated, justified and approved through budget authorization, additional staff may be hired to carry out the functions of the Office of Tourism and Promotions.
IV. Functions
A. The functions of the Office of Tourism and Promotions shall be to:
1. Coordinate and manage all District government activity related to tourism, convention and business travel and related promotional activities;
2. Serve as the Mayor's liaison to District agencies on issues affecting tourism and conventions;
3. Serve as a liaison to those agencies that affect the development or use of tourism attractions;
4. Maintain oversight on the use of Hotel Occupancy Tax ("HOT") dollars by promotional agencies, including the D.C. Committee to Promote Washington, the Washington, D.C. Convention and Visitors Association, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Convention Center;
5. Serve as liaison between government and the aforementioned agency recipients of HOT funds;
6. Insure that the Mayor's priorities relating to tourism and convention activities are conveyed to interested organizations and citizens;
7. Serve as the representative of the Mayor for tourism, promotion and convention related functions;
8. Arrange meetings, workshops, conferences and receptions to achieve the goals outlined in Section 2. above;
9. Encourage and assist in the coordination of activities that promote or create attractions in the District for the tourist or business traveller; and
10. Work to stimulate employment and economic development activities through tourism, entertainment and convention enterprises.
B. All functions heretofore performed by the Mayor's Special Assistant for Tourism are transferred to the Office of Tourism and Promotions.
V. Transfers All positions, property, records and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocation, and other funds available or to be made available relating to the duties and functions assigned herein are transferred to the Office of Tourism and Promotions. This includes all positions, budget and other available resources currently held in the Office of Business and Economic Development and allocated to the Office of Motion Picture and Television Development and to the D.C. Committee to Promote Washington.
VI. Abolishment The position of Mayor's Special Assistant for Tourism is abolished.
VII. Effective Date This Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1992 shall become effective on October 1, 1992, following Council review, in accordance with Section 422(12) of P.L. 93-198.
2001 Ed., Title 1, Chapter 15, Subchapter XI, Part B.
The tourism industry is the heartbeat of private enterprise in the District of Columbia. Tourism is responsible for generating approximately $3 billion dollars in the District in annual revenues. The tourist industry generates much of the activity and business of our city and, for that reason, it is a priority in my economic development strategy.
More than 19 million visitors came to Washington, D.C. in 1991 for vacation purposes. Those leisure visitors who stay overnight, stay in Washington an average of 2.9 nights. An estimated 1.68 million of these overnight leisure visitors stay in the District of Columbia hotels producing 2,230,000 hotel room nights for the city. In addition to dollars spent in over 88 hotels, these visitors spend millions of dollars in the District of Columbia retail establishments, restaurants, theaters and on city transportation.
While our neighboring jurisdictions become more aggressive, the District cannot afford to stand still. The Office of Tourism and Promotions will work to make Washington, D.C., visitor-friendly. We must help neighborhoods become more aware of strategies to encourage visitors to move away from the monumental core and visit the other sections of the District. The government will place more signs in key locations to direct and inform the visitors. We must establish a first class visitor's center; we have to provide more parking for tour buses, and information for those who use tour bus companies.
The District of Columbia cannot rest on its laurels; nor can this government wait for business and leisure travellers to come to our city. The pursuit of the travel dollar is becoming an increasingly competitive strategy among U.S. jurisdictions and international destinations. The state of Virginia spends 10 million dollars annually on tourism promotions. It is no accident that we are familiar with its theme "Virginia is for Lovers." Their national and international advertising budget is $5.5 million, almost 5 times the amount of money expended by the District of Columbia government.
It is no accident that we know New York state's theme "I Love New York." Approximately ten years ago in the midst of a spate of negative publicity about the safety of New York City, the state legislators voted to support a phenomenal increase in tourism promotion dollars. This action successfully increased the number of visitors and revenue they generated.
This administration will promote tourism as a vehicle for increasing the tax base. It is estimated that tourism generates over $235 million in tax revenue for the District of Columbia each year. This is new money, completely derived from outside sources, that is poured into Washington's coffers. These funds are used to improve the quality of life for all District residents.
We have to encourage Washington Dulles International Airport to solicit more international flights that bring high spending visitors to our Nation's Capital. We are reviewing our tour guide examination process which is more than 20 years old. We must inform our taxi drivers, our police, our parking enforcement officers and other front line personnel that tourism is good for our city. Our visitors must be treated with courtesy and respect to encourage travellers to return. These are programs the Office of Tourism and Promotions will coordinate.
The District Government must spend more dollars on tourism promotion. I appreciate the Council's support of $700,000 in general revenue funds to be appropriated to the Washington Convention Center Enterprise Fund. These funds will be used by the D.C. Committee to Promote Washington to sustain the Committee's national and international advertising campaigns. I know the Council realizes that even with this appropriation, the District of Columbia will rank barely thirtieth (30th) out of fifty (50) states in comparison to the amount of money expended by other states on advertising. During the next fiscal year, we hope to come up with a city theme that will be adopted by individual hotels and businesses who will do their part to promote Washington, D.C., as a place to visit in the minds of potential travellers.
I have frequently stated my desire to make Washington, D.C., an entertainment hub. My enthusiasm for this industry is rooted in the economic benefits of entertainment-related activities. We must do a better job of promoting those entertainment venues like the Kennedy Center, the National Theatre, and Carter Barron. We must bring more international sporting events to our city, e.g., World Cup Soccer and Tour Du Pont. These events generate dollars and provide recreation for our residents and visitors. These events also create contracting opportunities for District based businesses and jobs for city residents.
Because our society is fascinated with sports and entertainment, media outlets tend to cover these events more. World Cup Soccer will be viewed internationally by an estimated 26 billion viewers. The District could not, on its own, afford to purchase that kind of advertising. Tour Du Pont, in its first year in Washington, D.C., was carried by CBS sports and ESPN cable live, reaching more than 10 million households.
Several motion pictures have been filmed in Washington, D.C., as a result of the successful efforts of the Mayor's Office of Motion Picture and Television Development. When productions are filmed here, revenue is generated for electricians, make-up artists, sound mixers, video companies, construction crews, truckers, caterers, etc. In addition, because of Washington's distinctive skyline, filming in our city also advertises the unique attractions of our city. The City Council wisely voted to expand staffing and increase our capacity to generate over $30 million in annual revenues for local businesses and the District's revenue fund.
We have tremendous resources and talents within our borders. My objective is to set priorities in cooperation with key business leaders affected by these programs so that real economic benefits can occur. The public/private partnership between the District government and the Hotel Association on the Convention Center expansion is but one of many examples that we will initiate to achieve our objectives.
I know that with your support our goals will be achieved and that the potential of tourism and entertainment promotion in Washington, D.C., will be realized.