Lonely Planet names D.C. its No. 1 destination for 2015

Washington is Lonely Planet’s number one destination to visit for 2015, a first-time distinction for the city.

It’s the first time the District has appeared anywhere on the Lonely Planet list, which the international travel guide company has compiled the past nine years.

D.C. ranks atop Milan, Vienna, Chennai, India, and El Chaltén, Argentina, among others in the top 10 destinations for next year, according to Lonely Planet.

The travel guide company’s reasons for naming the District tops? A combination of free monuments and museums, a thriving arts scene, José Andrés and burgeoning destinations such as The Yards and CityCenterDC.

It also highlights D.C.’s shopping, something that might have seemed impossible a few years ago. Crediting First Lady Michelle Obama in part for the city’s recent style overhaul, Lonely Planet highlights the wide range of offerings in Georgetown as D.C.’s “best shopping.” By 2015, however, CityCenterDC and the surrounding East End neighborhood might be giving D.C.’s historic shopping strip some competition.

While there aren’t specific metrics for measuring the impacts of a Lonely Plant nod, Destination D.C., the city’s marketing and tourism agency, hopes the distinction will continue to increase Washington’s visibility among international travelers.

“A listing like this helps us tap into the valuable international market with the shared authority of a trusted brand like Lonely Planet,” said Destination D.C. spokeswoman Kate Gibbs.

Though international travelers made up only 8 percent of D.C. visitors in 2013, they represented 27 percent of visitor spending. The Lonely Planet honor could be particularly helpful with travelers from Australia, one of the largest markets for incoming visitors and the country where the travel book publisher was founded.

Lonely Planet’s designation comes on the heels of Forbes naming D.C. America’s “coolest city” and Travel Weekly publishing a large spread in its August issue terming D.C. “The District of Cool-umbia.”

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