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Research
Our staff has compiled a lot of data on the region and tourism industry. We are happy to provide you with details, reports and statistics.
Tourism's Economic Impact on our Community
In 2023, travel-related spending in Seattle Southside totaled $979.7 million, a $47 .7 million or 5.1% increase com pared to the previous year. The growth of Seattle Southside’s travel economy can be attributed to the 2.2% increase in overnight visitors and price inflation of goods and services, with accommodations and food services seeing the greatest price increases.
• Direct travel-related spending increased 5.1% from $932.0 million in 2022 to $979.7 million in 2023.
• Direct travel generated employment gained approximately 320 jobs in 2023, a 6.7% increase compared to the previous year.
• Direct earnings generated by travel increased 1.5%, from $265.2 million in 2022 to $269.1 million in 2023.
• Taxes receipts generated by direct travel-related spending totaled$126.1 million in 2023, a 3.2% increase compared to 2022.
• Visitor Volume increased 2.2% from 1,819,700 person trips in 2022 1,860,600 person trips in 2023.
• Local tax revenue generated by travel activity contributes approximately $1,946 per local household.
For more data please see the 2023p Seattle Southside Travel Impacts study, prepared for Seattle Southside, that documents the economic significance of the travel industry in the Seattle Southside area of King County from 2015 through 2023.
Seattle Southside Visitation Reports
More Data
WASHINGTON STATE VISITOR IMPACT
IN 2022, rising prices boosted average spending per visitor 16% to $216 per visitor to Washington. Overall, visitor expenditures increased 24% to $22.1 billion in 2022, 101.0% of 2019 levels nominally. However, due to the 14.5% rise in the national Consumer Price Index between 2019 and 2022, in real terms total visitor spending in 2022 amounted to just 86.3% of 2019 levels.
Last year the state’s visitor volume increased 7.3% to 102.2 million, still just 93% of 2019 levels. Visitation is largely dominated by domestic visitors (97.6% market share) while international visitation – representing strong growth potential for destinations with international air service – lags (2.4% of all visitors).
Direct state and local tax revenue increased 19.6% from 2021to $3.1 billion, down 1.4% relative to 2019. The total state and local taxes paid by visitors to Washington offset the average state household tax burden by $1,049 per year.
Comparatively, Washington’s recovery in visitor spending and tax generation rank among the five worst performing states in the nation, year-to-date through March 2023, according to Tourism Economics preliminary figures. Nationally, growth in visitor expenditures averages 4.3% compared to Washington’s -3%, and growth in visitor-generated tax revenue averages 3.8% nationally compared to Washington’s -2.8%. All competing western states have growth in both areas, some logging double-digit growth.
READ THE 2022 VISITOR IMPACT RESULTS
More About What We Do
Media Brand Kit
The Seattle Southside Brand Kit consists of the Explore Seattle Southside logo and brand standards guide for download.
Annual Reports
Seattle Southside by the numbers.
Strategic Plan
Working with local civic and business leaders, we’ve developed a strategic plan focusing on activities with the largest return on investment for attracting groups, tourists and business travelers to Seattle Southside.