The trade has seen an upsurge in interest in travel to Washington DC ahead of the inauguration of president elect Barack Obama.
Flight Centre has seen a 28% increase in booking enquiries for the US capital in the last week, across all its UK branches. Head of marketing Steve Norris said: “Washington was the 29th most inquired destination and it was nothing like that at this time last year.”
Around two million people are expected to flood the city for the inauguration festivities on January 20, and hotel roooms have been scarce since Obama’s election in November. Some travellers are staying as far afield as Virginia or Baltimore and driving to the capital.
London-based Trailfinders travel consultant Chris Radford said: “Even a couple of months ago there were barely any rooms, and they were all at inflated prices. We have no allocation in Washington hotels for that period, so it looks like hotels are completely full.”