The government shutdown couldn’t have come at a worse time for the capital, as its $11 billion tourism industry braces for impact.

Some government-funded museums and facilities such as the National Gallery of Art have already closed, and those that have not, such as the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and the National Air and Space Museum, are operating on reserve funds through October 11.

Starting Oct. 12, the real pain begins for a city that welcomed a record 27.2 million people and brought in a total of $11.4 billion last year, said Elliot L. Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC, a private nonprofit destination marketing organization.

He added that with the Smithsonian museums closed, previously scheduled tours may be canceled, which will impact the city’s tax base, but will also impact restaurants, tour operators and the more than 100,000 workers who rely on the industry.

It is unclear how long the closure can last. As of Thursday, there is no agreement back On the horizon, but Ferguson said an extended shutdown this fall would hit the capital’s tourism industry harder than the last record-long shutdown, which lasted 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019.

“When we look at September, October and November, those are the peak periods for meetings, business travel and leisure travel into the city,” Ferguson said. luck. “So it hurts more when it’s during the peak period.”

Some important events are scheduled to take place in the city, including the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army and the Army 10 Miler, starting next week. While neither have been canceled yet, Ferguson warned that their economic impact could be less than in years past if government employees are unable or unwilling to attend.

For now, Ferguson said Destination DC is promoting all the tourism activities still available in the city with a new campaign, while also remaining transparent about what’s not available.

“Washington remains largely open for business.”

Tourists race for closing hour

The most recent shutdown, during President Donald Trump’s first term, cost D.C. an estimated $47 million in lost revenue, according to Quarterly Revenue. appreciation Since that time, in addition to the hard-to-quantify losses caused by reduced discretionary spending on hotels, transportation and entertainment. Nationally, the shutdown has already caused more than $1 billion in travel losses, according to a live stream published by the U.S. Travel Association.

On a balmy, sunny Saturday in D.C., some of the last visitors to the city’s federally funded museums and facilities were eager to see exhibits before it was too late.

Sheila Paris, a Georgetown University student studying public policy, was waiting for her friends outside the East Building of the National Gallery of Art, a federally funded art gallery that hosts frequent lectures and features paintings by artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Paris was looking forward to a day of sightseeing because she didn’t have much time to visit museums since she moved to the city to complete graduate studies.

“I didn’t really take advantage of a lot of what D.C. had to offer. I focused a lot on school,” Paris said. luck. “But now with the lockdown, I realize these things aren’t going to stay open forever, so it’s really important for me to come and see things before they close indefinitely, because we don’t know how long that will take.”

At the U.S. Botanical Garden, about a ten-minute walk away, Jonas Loesel, a history and humanities student at Yale University, and Alana Edwards, a professor of politics, international affairs and sociology at Wake Forest University, were disappointed to see the facilities closed “due to a lapse in appropriations,” according to a sign out front.

Loesel was in D.C. for the weekend and said he was planning to go to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum instead. The Air and Space Museum is scheduled to remain open until October 11, according to its website.

“It is a tragedy that access to our nation’s historical record has been restricted by political farces,” he said. luck.

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