Elliot Ferguson, CEO and president of Washington DC Tourism, Destination DC, says that the seamless air connectivity between New Delhi and Dulles is helping more travellers plan visits. By Team Viva

What kind of Indian travellers are you catering to through this city-specific programme called Destination DC?

We are looking at a combination of business and leisure travellers and looking to make Washington a top bleisure destination. Which means that we get aware and selective visitors. They will be here only if they’ve businesses in the US, especially Washington DC. We are mainly targetting travellers who are looking for a high-end experience while on the go.

But there is an emerging group of Indian travellers from Tier-II cities who have spending power and are keen to travel...

In fact, we are widening the arc of our tourist experience at the same time. We do have something for those travelling on a fixed budget, are on a family vacation or travelling solo. They can book various kinds of packages, which involve places like local museums, community centres and weekly events, which they can be a part of. Our travel itineraries include value-added destinations from the Dulles International Airport to Downtown Washington. Also, the transportation in the city can be availed very reasonably to maintain one’s budget.

What of the festival circuit that you are  consciously developing, like the Cherry Blossom and the International Jazz festivals? Do they have something in store for Indian travellers?

Yes, a lot of them are free and have been developed around seasons. For instance, in July, you should visit Washington because of the spectacle and scale of Fourth of July celebrations, the Independence day. The weather might be warm but there are a lot of outdoor attractions like great fireworks and some amazing cultural walks. On the birth anniversary of Martin Luther King, Washington witnesses a special parade — something unmissable if you’re in the city. There are all kinds of activities lined up for tourists to celebrate his life and legacy. This way we are even making people across the globe aware of him in a new way.

Fortunately, we have over 170 international embassies in Washington DC. Many cultural-based events are happening through these embassies. For instance, we celebrated the Chinese New Year, which is a major event in various parts of Asia as well.

I would say that DC’s food scene is very underrated. We have some of the best-rated Indian restaurants in the US and that’s an amazing and compelling reason to not only stay in the city but experience a slice of its nightlife.

Latest data suggests that people like to plan their own vacations through online aggregators and do not rely on travel agents so much. How do you take advantage of this shift in preferences?

Most Americans travel on their personal time without consulting a travel agent. We do our own research. I think there’s sophistication and technology tied to this and we provide the most comprehensive website with cross-linkages so that you can research and make your own itinerary online. If you go to our website, you will find elaborate recommendations and itinerary suggestions for the number of days that you want to spend in DC. When you select the dates, you will also see which festivals or cultural or sports events are to take place on those dates in the city. Indians are  technologically very astute and are an aware community. And now with an increasing number of millennials,  they’re more likely to go out on their own. We have to hence study the patterns of each country to decide what would be the best for which kind of travellers. But the bottomline is that the easy access to technology today and fixed budgets are making people smarter in making travel choices.

The number of Indian tourists travelling to Washington DC is increasing day by day. What are the reasons?

Yes, India is Washington DC’s third overseas market and its visitation to DC has more than doubled in the last five years with 11,700 visitors in 2018. And that’s because of non-stop flights. Such seamless connectivity makes a big difference. Indian travellers are very attracted to New York and what it has to offer. If you are using a travel agent or even if you are doing your own research, you’ll know that Washington is two hours 45 minutes by train from New York. You can tie into an itinerary and visit other major cities. In between you get Philadelphia and Baltimore. I think that’s the kind of flexi combination that is working for us.

What are the other major attractions for Indian travellers?

We are promoting the shopping scene. We tend to think that the traditional Indian community may know about our great museums but they do not know about our other assets. There are various “things to see and do” lists. We have good tie-ins with international conferences and so are aware of varied tastes and customisation.

There are many Indians living in the US. What’s in store for them?

We recognise the Indian community that’s in Washington DC which is pretty large. They also have their families coming and visiting them. So we have worked out tight itineraries.