This is up $2 billion from 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
It's important to know that our typical international tourist spends $927 for every overnight stay while they're in town.
That $927 is being spent in our restaurants, spent in our bowling alleys and golf courses. These are great economic engines for our members.
I think the reason I want to put this in front of people is because it's time. It's time for us to take the next step in tourism. We're proud of the work done by the State of Washington Tourism, led by David Blandford.
But the $4.5 million we have per year to promote tourism in our state is laughably behind the other states.
We know how to successfully market Washington to other states and internationally. We need to find a way to get to a budget of $25 million.
The question is how? We are going to have to thread a needle between progressive Democrats, who may not fully recognize the investment potential of tourism, and conservative Republicans, who generally advocate for smaller government and reduced tax spending. And how do we really help the big middle understand the benefits?
For every $1 we spend on tourism marketing, the state receives $3 in state and local taxes. In 2023, tourism contributed $3.3 billion in state and local taxes – every household in Washington state would need to be taxed an additional $1,109 to replace those visitor taxes. Or think of it this way: $3.3 billion is enough money to pay the salaries of more than 32,000 police officers.
The Washington Hospitality Association, the State of Washington Tourism, and your destination marketing organizations or visitor and convention bureaus are hard at work trying to craft the proposal for the next legislative session that can get us where we need to go.
You can help us by reminding your local legislators and your local news organizations how important tourism is to us in our industry.
Check out the 2023 report in the members-only section of our website.
As always, it’s an honor to serve you,
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