Hospitality Marketing Course Caters to DC’s Record-Breaking Tourism Rise
In 2017, a record-breaking 20.8 million domestic visitors flocked to the nation’s capital where they spent more than $7.5 billion on accommodations, food and transportation. Currently, the industry employees upward of 75,000 people — a number that is only expected to increase as 18 planned hotels come online in the next few years, according to WTOP News.
To ready the region for tourism’s continued climb, WTOP News said, one local hotel is taking matters into its own hands. The Line DC, a relatively new travel and dining destination in Adams Morgan, is hosting a free, eight-week hospitality course this summer, called The Line Sessions, designed to tackle topics from food and beverage, to sales and marketing.
“Our goal is that by the time participants finish this eight-week course, they have a really great overview and understanding of the hospitality industry,” said Blake Danner, chief operating officer of the hotel’s parent company Sydell Group.
The program, which will be held inside The Line’s adjoining 4,000-square-foot community center, is geared toward the hotel’s neighbors in Ward 1, but Danner said he won’t turn away applications from others as long as there is room, according to WTOP News.
“The reality is that there’s $7 billion worth of tourism business in D.C. and we are a workforce that continues to grow,” Danner said. While the program doesn’t result in a degree, it does give participants a better grasp of the industry and makes them more marketable in the field. More here.
