Destination DC Resident Sentiment Data Collection

June 2025 - September 2025 - COMPLETED

Washington, DC

Destination DC’s (DDC) primary mission is to promote Washington, DC as an attractive tourist destination to non-resident populations around the world with the goal of generating economic development for the city. But to the extent that DDC helps bring visitors to the District, the organization understands that these visitors impact the lives of DC residents and the ever-changing character of the city’s many diverse neighborhoods. DDC contracted Brick & Story to collect and analyze data from residents about their perceptions and concerns around tourism in the District with the objective of ensuring that the organization’s sustainability strategy benefits and takes into account the views and lived experiences of residents all across the city.

Brick & Story led a combination of broad citywide and more targeted community engagement efforts over a 6-week period from July-August 2025. These efforts included a citywide online survey, four pop-ups, and four neighborhood-specific focus groups. To promote the survey and recruit participants for the focus groups, the Brick & Story team conducted email outreach via newsletters, listservs, ANCs, BIDs, neighborhood/civic associations, community organizations, and community leaders along with on-the-ground promotion via pop-ups and flyering in public spaces. Both the survey and focus group questions explored the perceptions, benefits, opportunities, drawbacks, and concerns around tourism in the eyes of residents from all over DC.