DC’s Cherry Blossom Festival tops pre-pandemic levels this year

D.C.'s Cherry Blossom Festival drew 1.6 million visitors, topping pre-pandemic numbers.

D.C.’s Cherry Blossom Festival drew 1.6 million visitors, topping pre-pandemic numbers.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival drew 1.6 million visitors this year, topping the pre-pandemic 1.5 million visitors in 2019, and those visitors stayed longer and spent more, according to the numbers released jointly by the festival and the D.C. Mayor’s office.

Estimated visitor spending in D.C. (not counting surrounding areas) was $202 million, with the average length of stay at 3.9 days.

Of those who attended various festival events, 56% were visitors and 44% were D.C.-area residents. Among visitors, 17% were international tourists. Among those out-of-town cherry blossom visitors, 58% stayed in the District, and of those, 77% stayed in D.C. hotels.

This year’s Cherry Blossom Festival was held from March 20 to April 14.

Next year’s festival is scheduled to run from March 20 through April 13. It will be the 25th festival since it changed from an all-volunteer run event to one organized and staffed by the nonprofit National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc.

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