US shutdown turns Washington into ghost town during quiet travel season

Washington hotels have cleared out entire floors. Restaurants have considered taking out loans to stay open. Phones have stopped ringing at tour companies.

In the nation's capital, the longest government shutdown in US history has threatened businesses that depend on the patronage of government workers and the attraction of federal monuments and museums to bring in tourists.

"It definitely feels like the phone should be ringing more," said Adam Plescia, owner of Custom Tours of DC. "I think people are apprehensive about booking in the near future."
 

January is typically a slow month for DC tourism, a lull between the holiday season and the March cherry blossom festival.

But the quiet is deafening this year, as the government shutdown pushes into its 26th day over US President Donald Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the US-Mexican border.

All 17 Smithsonian museums in the city are closed. The White House is closed to tourists. The outdoor monuments on the National Mall, while still accessible, might have less appeal among the overflowing trash cans and litter that the National Parks Service has not collected since being furloughed.

Yohannes Zekele, who operates van and walking tours of the city as the owner of Washington DC Legend Tours, said he has not received calls for tour bookings in days. He often gives tours to lobbyists or professionals who visit the capital for conferences, but those people have few reasons to visit while many federal agencies remain shuttered.

"That's a major impact," Zekele said.

To be sure, the shutdown failed to keep all tourists away but at least some of those who came to the capital were disappointed.

Local restaurants have seen a "drastic decline" in business due to fewer tourists and furloughed workers choosing not to dine out, according to Kathy Hollinger, President, and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.

The local restaurant community had suffered an average 20 percent drop in sales over the course of the shutdown, with some restaurants reporting a drop of as much as 60 percent drop, Hollinger said.

Hotel occupancy was down more than 8 per cent the week of December 30 to January 5 compared with the same week last year, according to the most recent findings by Destination DC, an independent tourism marketing organisation.

Destination DC compiles visitation statistics annually, so it is too soon to measure how much the shutdown has affected the local tourism industry, Destination DC spokeswoman Danielle Davis said.

In 2017, 22.8 million tourists visited the city and spent $7.5 billion.