Every year hundreds of people troop to Washington, DC to be at the epic center of what it means to be an American. It has been called a tourist trap because of the massive crowds armed with their US visitors insurance, cameras and credit cards. The usual events like the National Cherry Blossom Festival attracts Asians by the busloads who love to see the Tidal Basin and the pink cherry trees. This year, the authorities are expecting an even bigger crowd hopefully with visitors insurance as the city celebrates the 100th year celebration.
Some of scheduled events are a maze of weeds with a light show to attract glowing insects, an art show, and several exhibits. In fact one of the art exhibits will be on display up to August this year and in selected areas around the city.
The plan is to draw visitors and tourists to the city’s neighborhoods as well as the regular tourists’ spots like the White House, monuments, museums, U.S. Capitol, and the Smithsonian Museum. It’s important to showcase more than these national treasures so that the income is spread out more evenly among the people living in the city. By doing this, visitors also get a true sense of what it is really like to live in Washington. It’s not just all bars, museums, and politics. There will be walking tours, bus tours, photo exhibits, and a bustling nightlife in different sections of the city. The program is called Destination DC and is headed by Elliot Ferguson. He says,” The perception is that we are the seat of power for the U.S. They may not know us for all the other hip and sexy reasons.”
The usual profit from tourists and visitors amount to $5 billion a year and Ferguson hopes to bring some of that money to the neighborhoods and smaller communities around the DC area.
