While Seattle tourism is recovering but not back to pre-pandemic levels, Visit Seattle officials are happy with 2023 and their plans to continue increasing visitor numbers. Joining us Thursday was Michael Woody, Senior Vice President of Community Engagement and Public Affairs.
“From a visitation perspective, we had over 33 million people visiting and visiting Seattle (in 2023),” Woody said.
This amounts to approximately $10.2 billion injected into the local economy through tourism. Normally, the city's tourism revenue would be close to $13 billion, but as Woody acknowledged in an interview Thursday, there's still a ways to go.
The creators of Visit Seattle are always looking for ways to bring outsiders to the Emerald City, a city known for its rainy days. Never daunted by its reputation, Visit Seattle has launched his 2022 “Kissing in the Rain” booths in cities across the country. It was their effort to show that a little rain doesn't have to keep you from coming to Seattle, and in fact, it can be pleasant and romantic.
The booth has appeared in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona, and the campaign won four awards at the International Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association's Adrian Awards last year.
But what happens when the lovebirds who come to Seattle from Miami to get cozy and stroll to Pike Place Market find themselves on the infamous 3rd Street and Pike/Pine Corridor? Woody has an answer to that, too. have.
“What we often end up doing is providing 'creative wayfinding' to help visitors navigate,” Woody said softly.
This is a good way to show that there are brightly colored and clearly labeled signs to help tourists navigate Seattle's not-so-pretty areas and head to well-known destinations.
Listen to the rest of our conversation with Michael Woody here.
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