in Washington remains very strong . Planners are asking for more , and cities are stepping up to the plate . The key thing about Washington is that transport costs can be kept low , 16 museums are free .

We ’ ve always been on the ‘ bleisure ’ trajectory because we have an advantage over other destinations in the US . We have three airports and a Silverline Metro that opens this year and will bring in visitors from Dulles International airport .

What role does sustainability play in DC in terms of securing events ? The US is light years behind Europe and some other international communities in terms of sustainability but the issue is a priority in Washington , so as groups are looking to come into the city , the city prides itself on having all efforts tied to having a sustainable convention or meeting in the city as well as a lot of new builds tied to green build certification . It is a priority . We want to make sure that we are a leader in the green build space . We are not as large a city as people may think with our 700,000 population . Not a large footprint in terms of size of the city , but there ’ s a lot we can do and the city is incentivising those focusing on sustainability .

With so many non-profits and think tanks in DC , they also understand that they are responsible for the environment .

How does the ‘ Capital ’ tag help with business ? Lots of national associations are headquartered here and 180-plus embassies as well as legislators based in the city . If you ’ re looking for a destination that offers international experience with access to embassies and easy flight options , these are all things we look to promote .

As well as government , we have entertainment and sporting events as attractions . It is fun to be in a city where so many sports teams have won national championships . Theatre is another reason for visits .

It is incumbent on DMOs to recognise we can no longer just sell on the infrastructure and how great our city is , we have to focus on ways to tie the assets we have in the destination to the customer .

We also have assets in our community that allow you to take some of your meetings out of the hotel or convention centre and into a unique space in the city . It ’ s our responsibility to share that with our customers so

“ We ’ re very optimistic . Last year was better than 2020 . We had 20 city-wide conventions and we have smaller meetings coming to DC in 2022 ”

Below : Sunset at the

National Mall , DC

their attendees can say ‘ Wow , I had the most amazing experience in Washington DC ’.

People want to meet in person . Human interaction is important to a lot of things tied to doing business . If my competitor is going to meet in person do I want to be on a Zoom going after the same customer ? Whoever is there in person will have a better connection to the customer . Being here at PCMA , the overwhelming thing I hear is ‘ People want to spend time with each other ’.

What about talent leaving the industry . Is that a problem ? Absolutely , our industry has been severely impacted and some won ’ t return and we have seen that the hospitality industry is very fragile . We are talking about ways of attracting people back and focusing on diversity and inclusion . It is very difficult when you are running a 365-day a year hotel or venue business , but we have to get back on track and attract new talent to the industry .

If nothing else , the pandemic has taught us how important it is to have that interconnectivity and how much we need each other .