Live From PCMA CL 26: What's New in D.C
Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sat down with Elliott L. Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC, at PCMA Convening Leaders 2026 to discover what's new in the nation's capital in regard to meetings and conventions.
From the major celebrations feting the 250th anniversary of the U.S. to how the new Wharf district is opening up options for groups, Washington, D.C., is gearing up for a big year in 2026. See what the leader of its DMO has to say about everything that's going on.
Listen now:
Transcript:
Tyler Davidson: Hello and welcome to this Meetings Today podcast. I'm Tyler Davidson, vice president and chief content director for Meetings Today. And we are joined here live at PCMA Convening Leaders in beautiful Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with Elliot Ferguson, the president and CEO of Destination D.C. Thanks for joining us, Elliot.
Elliot Ferguson: Tyler, happy to be here. Thank you.
Tyler Davidson: Keeping busy at the show?
Elliot Ferguson: It's been really busy. It's always good to see everyone at the beginning of the year. This is, of course, the first show that starts off all of the meetings for the year. So, it's been impressive. Great meetings, great environment. So, we're happy to be in Philadelphia.
Tyler Davidson: And in Philadelphia, I mean, they're celebrating America's 250th too. And you guys are also. So, both destinations should figure prominently this year, right?
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Elliot Ferguson: Yeah, it's us. It's Boston. And ironically, last year, Philly, Boston, DC, we all went to Australia to promote our destinations collectively because they travel for 21 days. And we all joke about what portion of America's 250 are tied to our destinations. Now, of course, D.C. did not exist 250 years ago. So, Boston and Philly fight over it. And then when they're done, I say, well, you guys get it all done, but we now have it all in D.C. So, it's going to be exciting to see how the East Coast We'll celebrate America's 250.
Tyler Davidson: I mean, this is me saying this, but obviously they must have screwed up if they're not the Capitol, right?
Elliot Ferguson: I'm just saying, from your lips to God's ears.
Tyler Davidson: Well, get back to DC then. Tell us about how you're gearing up for the 250th anniversary and what's going on and how maybe meetings and events groups can take advantage of it.
Elliot Ferguson: Yeah, our goal, and we're fortunate we have a lot of in-house small meetings and a lot of large congresses taking place in Washington. The international community, some especially in Europe, celebrate America's 250 or inquisitive about it. And then there are other parts of the world that are like, well, okay, 250, that's a very small period of time, but what is happening that we can take advantage of? So, as we're looking at groups coming to the city, there's what the federal government is doing, which started December 31st with the fireworks celebration. And we'll continue on with other events, including an even larger 4th of July, if it could get any larger, because it's the largest in the country. So, as we're looking at the traditional events, Cherry Blossom Festival, Passport DC Jazz Festival and the list goes on and on, they're components of America's 250 that are going to be part of their programming this year, which we are sharing with the traveling public. Those attending conventions, clearly what we will do is make sure that our services team gives insight to the meeting planner as to what events that are taking place while their conventions are in town that would be a part of how those individuals, be it spousal programs or the actual meeting itself, can take advantage of it. So I'll run down the list, be it the 10th anniversary of the African-American Museum, the 50th anniversary of the Air and Space Museum, the Hirshhorn Sculpture Gallery coming back online, the Milken Center that opened last year, the new National Geographic Museum, which opens this year, and so many other celebrations are going to be a part of what we do for this year.
Tyler Davidson: You just have a wealth of things to promote. You really landed in a good destination to promote with all those museums and things happening.
Elliot Ferguson: Yeah, and you're absolutely right. And for us, not only are we fortunate to have interactive museums, but 16 of them are part of the Smithsonian, including the zoo, and they're free. and just getting into the city. And as we think about events like World Cup, Philly, Boston, New York on the East Coast, and Atlanta and other cities will be hosting events, there is going to be an opportunity for those that are coming and going to games in those cities to come to Washington. We know the room rates will be cheaper. Silver Line from Dulles Airport into the city, and then of course Amtrak, as I did to get here, that's going to be a huge part of what we're going to be promoting as well.
Tyler Davidson: And that said about all the wealth of things you have to sell, you still need to sell them though. And so, tell us about the sales momentum and your outlook for this year.
Elliot Ferguson: Well, you know, it's for us, we are fortunate to your point in terms of infrastructure, in terms of things to see and do. We are still from an international perspective, hoping that we'll see stronger numbers in terms of visitation. We're working with U.S. Travel Association and hoping that they are positioning the right messaging with our elected officials in terms of what rhetoric does, positive or negative, how the visa process has to be easy, especially as we're talking about World Cup and other events. And again, there's, as we are going to the seven offices that we have globally, we're hearing positive things about travel to the U.S., plus or minus Canada. We know Canadians still love us. They have a huge presence here. But we feel like that market will be down for a while. But we'll still be present there as well.
Tyler Davidson: Are there any markets internationally that have an uptick or look more robust than others?
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Elliot Ferguson: Yeah, the good news for us is Mexico, Central America, South America. We have an office in Brazil and in Mexico. The number of visitors are continuously looking strong to the U.S. and to Washington. As we're looking at Asia, we still are compromised with Lyft nonstop from China and India to the East Coast with U.S.-based carriers. But we are still seeing a degree of momentum, and we're optimistic that will change in terms of airspace opening up for those nonstop flights back to the East Coast. So The U.S. still remains aspirational. We hear it from Brand USA. We hear it from our offices in terms of why people want to come. Perhaps they'll consider coming this year, maybe next year, as we have other events and activities that are taking place that they'll be able to take advantage of.
Tyler Davidson: Tell us more about your connected campus. I know we've talked about that before. And then the Wharf, which I've written some stories about D.C., and it was really personally intriguing to me that you have this historic city, but then you also have new districts like the Wharf, which has venues, hotels, cultural spaces. Why don't you let people know more about that?
Elliot Ferguson: Yeah, you know, when you talk about, you know, I've been in D.C. since December 2001. Areas like the Wharf, Union Market technically existed, but not the way they do now with restaurants, shops, hotels. And the list goes on and on as we're looking at building the new Commanders Football Stadium in Washington, D.C., that land being developed similarly to the Wharf because it's on the Anacostia River. So as we're looking at the footprint of Washington, more than likely, when you came to the city, you stayed in the central business district, and you had meetings in the convention center, and then you left, or you had dinner there as well. We're very lucky and fortunate to see the growth of our city that's tied to neighborhoods, be it historic Anacostia and other parts of the city, that visitors are coming, physically staying in hotels, eating in restaurants and exploring other parts of the city that perhaps they had not seen before. So, as we're looking at not only areas that are being developed, but also new product coming online, we have a new Salamander Hotel, which was the Mandarin. We have other new properties that have opened in the city that we're really, really proud of that are in neighborhoods versus downtown.
Tyler Davidson: Great. And any other sort of new and upcoming venues, museums, attractions, anything coming up people should know about.
Elliot Ferguson: Yeah, I mentioned the Milken Center, which opened earlier last, well, opened in 2025. And very exciting opportunity for those to learn more about democracy in downtown Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Museum, as we look at museums that are not downtown, the zoo is not downtown on the National Mall. The National Geographic Museum's coming online, and it is not downtown. You know, as we're looking at America's 250, everything from theater, you know, we're engaging the various theaters in Washington, D.C. to learn more about how they're commemorating America's 250. But from the Washington perspective, we're also looking at the celebrating the strides that have taken place since 250 years ago. Because as it was written, all men were created equal, that was not necessarily the case then. And as we think about the civil rights, the history of civil rights, Washington is that place. There's a new tour called 51 Steps that is a virtual tour that is really tied to a lot of the strides that the black community have made, specifically in the U.S. and in Washington, D.C. So, All of that's going to be on our website, washington.org or dc250.us, with selected or suggested itineraries for people to consider as they're looking at coming to the city.
Tyler Davidson: Great. Thanks for joining us, Elliot.
Elliot Ferguson: Oh, thank you very much, Tyler. Always a pleasure to see you.
Tyler Davidson: And likewise. That was Elliot Ferguson, who's the president and CEO of Destination DC. I'm Tyler Davidson, vice president and chief content director for Meetings Today. Thank you for joining us for this Meetings Today podcast. If you're interested in other Meetings Today podcasts, head on over to meetingstoday.com and check out our podcast section for a wealth of interviews with meetings and events industry thought leaders. Thank you for joining us for this podcast taped at PCMA Convening Leaders 2026. If you couldn't be here, sorry you couldn't join us, but no matter what you're up to when you're listening to this, go out and make it a great day.
