New Delhi: Indians are expected to remain the top-spending international visitors to Washington, DC, in both 2026 and 2027, even as visa-processing delays and geopolitical developments influence travel worldwide, said the top executive of the destination marketing organisation for the US capital.While current forecasts point to a decline in Indian visitation and spending in 2026 compared with 2025, India remains one of the most important “high-value” markets, Elliott L Ferguson, II, president and chief executive of Destination DC, said in an interview with ET. The organisation is committed to keeping Washington, DC, “visible”, “competitive” and “connected” with Indian travellers and the travel trade, he said.India remained Washington, DC’s, No.1 international spending market for the second year in a row at $342.7 million in 2025 with a relatively flat change from 2024, according to research and consulting firm Tourism Economics. India was followed by the UK ($289.5 million), Canada ($266.2 million), China ($190 million) and Germany ($187.5 million). Indian visitors to DC spent $1,857 per person in 2025, compared with $1,462 by the average international visitor, as per Destination DC’s estimates.Washington, DC, ranks No.3 among US destinations for Indian visitors, behind New York and San Francisco. As per Tourism Economics, DC’s top five international markets in terms of visitation in 2025 were Canada at 208,500, followed by India (184,500), the UK (182,600), Germany (125,00) and China (106,500).“Visitation to the US has slowed down, especially with India not having direct non-stop flights to Washington, DC, and the East Coast. It’s a challenge, but India continues to remain a very strong market,” said Ferguson. “India really picked up post Covid. There are certain markets that haven’t rebounded for a variety of reasons such as Canada and China. But we are optimistic. There is still a degree of interest in travelling to the US. It’s a matter of when.”Destination DC is in talks with authorities and carriers to make it easier for Indians to visit the US capital, he said. “Under the former administration, the Biden administration, easing visa appointment timelines was a priority. We saw timelines come down. We have made it a priority to make sure this (Trump) administration understands the importance of the Indian market in terms of visitation to Washington, DC and to the US,” he added.Indian visitation to Washington, DC, was 21.8% above the 2019 (pre-Covid) level, making India one of DC’s strongest post-pandemic growth markets, as per Tourism Economics.During the financial year 2025–26, Washington, DC, continued to strengthen its presence in the Indian market through several initiatives. On the trade front, Destination DC conducted agent training in tier-I and tier-II cities in partnership with B2B travel distribution platform TBO, while collaborating with Thomas Cook and SOTC on digital campaigns. It also launched the DC Special Agent Academy, an incentive-led training programme open to travel agents across India. On the B2C front, it partnered with online travel agency MakeMyTrip on a digital campaign and training for its holiday experts.