Elliott L. Ferguson, CEO of Destination DC (Washington DC tourist office)

What is the image of Washington DC today?

For most Americans, Washington DC is a "high school trip" to visit the monuments, the political institutions, the Smithsonian, and so on. We are working to ensure that people also come for the life of the city: restaurants, shopping, everything that makes Washington more and more attractive. For the rest of the world, the city has grown and changed over the last fifteen years and has become a first-class international destination. We're concentrating our efforts on ensuring that, on the international market, we're not just "the government's city", because that's not necessarily sexy...

What sectors are driving business traffic in DC?

Since September 2008, more and more people have been coming to Washington to lobby, particularly in the financial sector... A lot of things that used to happen on Wall Street are now happening in DC, especially with the billions of dollars distributed in recovery plans. The same goes for the car industry. Similarly, for better or worse, every problem in the world brings contracts to the defence industry, of which Washington DC is now the centre. Finally, the number of associations based in Washington continues to grow. There are 9,000 of them, many of them international. All this necessarily generates demand.

What are the city's plans for the future?

There is no doubt that the increase in demand will fuel further expansion of the hotel portfolio, particularly at the top end of the market. The opening of the Mandarin Oriental five years ago gave the signal. Since then, most of the top-of-the-range establishments have been renovated to remain competitive. Next, before the end of the year, we are preparing to open a large 1,200-room Marriott Marquis hotel to serve our new Convention Centre. The other major project will be the renovation of the site of the former Convention Centre, transformed into a mixed-use development area with offices, condominiums, hotels and so on. Finally, we are preparing the development of the riverfronts to the south-east and south-west of the city, on both the Anacostia and the Potomac.