Washington, DC is experiencing lower levels of tourism

Looking to make a trip to the nation’s capital? There may be a lot less to do than usual. The actions of the Trump administration, along with the ongoing government shutdown, have reduced the number of attractions available to the public. The biggest victims are small businesses and restaurants that are suffering from a lack of customers.

Washington, D.C. tourism has taken repeated blows this year. Beginning in the summer, “images of National Guard troops and federal officers stationed across D.C.” worked to “deter some would-be tourists from visiting the city,” said Axios. In October, the government shutdown caused the closure of many top sightseeing attractions in Washington, including the Library of Congress and the 21 museums that are part of the Smithsonian Institution. While some of D.C.’s attractions, like the “privately funded museums, along with its open-air national monuments and memorials and even its high-end restaurants,” are still open for business, the other closures are “acting as an accelerant” to the lack of tourism, said The New York Times.