D.C. Council, regional authorities must push global tourism

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

D.C. Council members finally return to work Tuesday after a summer break had them doing whatever they do when there’s no gavel or crisis forcing them to earn their paychecks.

This means it’s a perfect time to add to the to-do list of the occupants of City Hall, whose penchant for spending runs neck-and-neck with their penchant for raising taxes and fees.

So here goes.

The inaugural public opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is slated for Saturday, and it’s been a long time in the making. It’s also time to raise the bar.

The time has come for regional authorities to push the jewel in our area’s tourism crown, the Smithsonian Institution.

As the capital of America, the District is home to embassies and the cultural elite from other nations, as well as educational institutions that cater to students and professionals from other nations.

Yet there’s no regional marketing push.

There needn’t be any new bureaucracies to pull together a marketing/public relations effort.

There needn’t be a fancy schmancy blue ribbon panel or task force either.

All it would take is the D.C. mayor and selected officials to meet a few times with local leaders and governors, regional business and cultural leaders to jump start discussions. These talks should focus on and produce one goal: Tourism as a moneymaker.

Mayor Muriel Bowser should, perhaps, be more interested than her counterparts. Having visited China less than a year ago, she already knows who’s who — as does council member Jack Evans, chairman of the council’s Finance and Revenue Committee and head of the Metro Board of Directors. Mr. Evans loves dollar signs as much as the other City Hall Democrats and liberals. And he, better than any of them, knows that tourism drives the city’s economy and Metro helps move that money around the region.

And it’s easy to re-educate Mr. Evans, who traveled with Madam Mayor to China, and inform other leaders in case they’re unaware of the role the Chinese play in the District’s travel and tourism economy. During 2015, the District set tourist records that brought in $7.1 billion, which was 4 percent increase over 2014. (A tip of the locks to former Bowser spokesman Michael Czin for the stats.) 

Also, approximately 1.9 million overseas visitors traveled to the nation’s capital in 2014, and the top countries of origin include: China, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, India, South Korea, Brazil, Japan and Italy.

In addition, the Washington region is home to 400 international associations, 1,000 internationally owned companies and more than 180 embassies and international cultural centers.

For some, that info might beg the question about the tie-in to the Smithsonian’s African American museum.

Well, the economic potential should be obvious. Let’s look at the cultural, historical and educational opportunities as well, however.

The history of America, let alone black America, is incomplete without the historical, cultural and educational context about those nations and their people.

The United Kingdom and slavery, for example.

Or Germany, France, Italy and World War II.

Or South Korea and the Korean War.

Or Brazil and the South America’s Atlantic slave route.

Or even the sugar industry, not in Colonial Era Brazil, but modern-day Australia.

Those are but a few historical jumping-off points. Build upon them and others will follow.

And our many fine educational institutions and museums and eateries would surely be of service.

That way even the caf the African American museum could diversity, and not limit its fare to fried chicken and the like.

Our leaders should connect that cultural ties that bind them to the almighty dollar, not merely count them.

Maybe if regional leaders think outside the competitive box, they could learn a bit of foodie info too, and pass it along to school kids, like the difference between yams and sweet potatoes by Thanksgiving 2017.

Brazilians could prove especially helpful in that tasty area.

Moreover, the National Museum of African American History and Culture is the perfect place to deposit it for a global audience.

• Deborah Simmons can be contacted at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.