Destination DC serves as the lead organization to successfully manage and market Washington, DC as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination, with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historical communities. By developing and executing centralized and cohesive sales and marketing strategies, Destination DC generates economic development for the city through tourism and meetings. In 2007, visitor spending exceeded $5.5 billion, representing nearly $600 million in new tax dollars for the District of Columbia.

Destination DC is a private, non-profit corporation with a membership of nearly 1,000 businesses and organizations that support the DC travel and tourism sector. A contracting arm of the Washington Convention Center Authority, the organization is funded by a percentage of DC’s hotel occupancy tax, along with membership dues and co-operative marketing fees.

Formerly known as the Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation (WCTC), the organization was re-named in 2008 to reflect the organization’s increased emphasis on the city’s unique assets. WCTC was established by business and community leaders in April 2001 by merging the Washington, DC Convention and Visitors Association and the DC Committee to Promote Washington. The Washington, DC Convention and Visitors Association was founded in 1931 to promote convention and leisure travel to the nation’s capital.