Washington DC tour operators report steep drop in business in 2026

Left · 2Several Washington, D.C. tour guides and photographers told The Washington Post that business has dropped sharply in 2026, and Raw Story and The Independent both reported their accounts. 1 2 Left · 2E. David Luria of Washington Photo Safari, who has run the business for 27 years, said bookings are down about 50 percent from last year, even though he had hoped the city's celebration of America's 250th anniversary would boost them. "People just aren't coming," he said. 1 2 Left · 2Carolyn Crouch, founder of Washington Walks, said this is her company's worst year apart from the 2020 pandemic. She said revenue was down 70 percent in July and August and about 50 percent for the rest of the year, and that the company is "on track to conclude 2026 with a loss". 1 2

Left · 1Rauf Shakir, co-owner of USA Guided Tours, called it "hands down our worst year" and cited a 65 to 75 percent drop in revenue from two years ago. The Independent reported this figure; Raw Story did not. 2 Left · 2The operators pointed to closed or fenced-off sites, including the Reflecting Pool, most of Lafayette Square, the demolished White House East Wing, the Kennedy Center and parts of the National Mall. The Independent adds that the Reflecting Pool was drained after a botched repair and that the East Wing was demolished for an estimated $900 million ballroom. 1 2 Left · 2Canden Arciniega of DC by Foot Tours (spelled Camden in The Independent) said the main visitor complaint is "we can't get our pictures without fences". The company shelved its "White House at Night" tour indefinitely and cut its Capitol Hill tours from twice a day, Tuesday to Saturday, to four a week. 1 2

Left · 2Crouch said the administration had also made the city's "brand toxic" and that people were "voting with their feet". Several guides said international visitors are staying away because of immigration and visa policies, tariffs, attacks on allies and, according to Shakir, images of National Guard troops on the streets. Arciniega said her international clients are down more than 50 percent and that Canadian corporate and school groups have dried up. 1 2 Left · 1White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis called the guides' claims "a completely false narrative". She said President Trump had turned D.C. into "a safe and beautiful haven", and she cited a "record number of Americans and foreign tourists" for America's 250th birthday events, including the UFC fight, the Grand Prix and Independence Day celebrations. Only The Independent reported this response. 2 Left · 1Wider data are mixed. Destination DC reported more than 27.2 million visitors to D.C. in 2025, up slightly from 2024, though international visitors fell 4 percent. A separate study found US visitor numbers fell 5.5 percent in 2025, driven largely by 4.2 million fewer Canadian visitors. Neither article gives full-year 2026 figures for the city. 2