Appreciation: It Goes a Long Way.

Every year, Destination DC hosts a feel-good event called "DC Loves Buses" day. This is a day where the tourism industry in Washington, D.C., comes together to thank tour bus drivers for all they do to bring group business into the city. The drivers are surprised with goodie bags and lunch, provided by our industry partners.

 This is, by far, my favorite day of the year, as I get to interact with various groups and also hear firsthand accounts from the drivers about how they view our city and what we can do to improve it for them. One of the most memorable moments was from the first year of this event.

One driver received a bag and many of his fellow drivers, whom he knew well, received goodie bags, too. During the course of his day, he lost his bag. Upon returning home, he had one of his fellow drivers give him my business card that was in their bag. While he took off on another run, his wife called me to see if he could get another bag. When she called, my heart melted, as she was so appreciative that someone reached out to the drivers in the city to thank them for their service. She offered to come out the following year with her friends to make the effort even bigger. Needless to say, she got more than one bag for her husband's return. The best part to the story is, the following year, we bumped into this sweet driver again and he was delighted to see our teams out in force once again.

Written by Morgan Maravich, Tourism Services Manager at Destination DC.

Destination DC (DDC) and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) partnered with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), American Bus Association (ABA), United Motorcoach Association (UMA), Student & Youth Travel Association (SYTA), National Park Service (NPS)-National Mall & Memorial Parks (NAMA) and the DC local hospitality industry on its annual "DC Loves Buses" initiative on May 1. This campaign is designed to thank group tour operators and bus companies for making Washington, DC the top group tour destination in the U.S. and to communicate the latest regulations and motor coach updates.