Seattle Sees Eighth Consecutive Year of Record Tourism

April 13, 2018
National Geographic Traveler’s Digital Nomad Robert Reid gave the Keynote Address during Visit Seattle’s 2018 Annual Meeting. Credit: Alan Alabastro of Alabastro Photography

National Geographic Traveler’s Digital Nomad, Robert Reid, gave the Keynote Address. Credit: Alabastro Photography

Statistics released today show record visitor volume, expenditures, tax contributions and travel-related employment for Seattle and King County in 2017 for the eighth year in a row. The results were released by Visit Seattle at its 2018 Annual Meeting at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel April 12.

Visit Seattle president & CEO Tom Norwalk and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan welcomed more than 700 tourism and business professionals to the event held purposefully on Global Meetings Industry Day. Addresses were made by meetings industry thought-leader Michelle Mason, president and CEO of Association Forum and Robert Reid, National Geographic Traveler’s Digital Nomad.

A total of 39.9 million visitors came to the city and county in 2017, up 2.6 percent from the previous year, according to the Visit Seattle report, which was created in conjunction with its national research firms, Tourism Economics and Longwoods International. Overnight visitors increased 3.9 percent to 20.8 million. Those visitors spent $7.4 billion in the city and county in 2017 — an increase of 5.6 percent from the previous year.

King County Executive Dow Constantine presented the 2018 Seattle Tourism Ambassador of the Year to four recipients. They are:

  • Ali Better — Server at Six Seven Restaurant at The Edgewater Hotel
  • Michael Embaye — Welcome Ambassador at W Seattle
  • Christian Bouchez — Visitor Services Manager at The Museum of Flight
  • Amanda Sullivan — Lead Server at Canlis

For more information go to Visit Seattle.

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