Seattle mayor signs new legislation aimed at boosting city’s tourism

SEATTLE — Mayor Bruce Harrell has signed new legislation into law that he hopes will provide a boost to Seattle tourism.

The Seattle Tourism Improvement Area (STIA) was previously passed by city council unanimously.

The STIA will create a new 15-year Business Improvement Area (BIA) that will promote tourism and create an “updated equitable assessment formula.”

“Through the Seattle Tourism Improvement Area, we are further strengthening Seattle’s ability to market and promote itself as a world-class city to visitors from all over the world,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “We know tourism is a powerful economic driver, benefiting small and local businesses across the city, and this STIA enhancement means expanded opportunity to bring people to Seattle and make the most of the new Summit Seattle Convention Center.”

The legislation is the newest part of Seattle’s Downtown Activation Plan.

The STIA currently includes hotels in Seattle neighborhoods such as Lower South Lake Union, Queen Anne, Belltown, Pioneer Square, SODO, and portions of Capitol Hill. Each hotel has 60 rooms or more.

These businesses generate millions of dollars that support STIA programs and services.

“Conventions are enormously beneficial to downtown small businesses who are still struggling with decreased foot traffic from office workers – and Seattle competes fiercely with other major cities for that business travel,” said Councilmember Sara Nelson, Chair of Economic Development, Technology, and City Light. “The restructured STIA assessment will generate additional revenue for Visit Seattle to promote all of Seattle as a premier business and leisure travel destination and I sponsored this legislation because it only makes sense to use some of that money to market the Convention Center’s stunning new Summit building to domestic and international meeting and event planners.”

STIA was first created in 2011 to further marketing and promotion efforts that had already existed at the state and city levels.

The following are tourism impact metrics from 2022:

• $699 million in state and local taxes were paid by visitors, an increase of 36.4% from 2021
• 33.3 million visitors came to Seattle and King County, a 25% increase from 2021
• $7.3 billion was spent in the city and county from visitors, a 35% increase from 2021
• Tourism-related jobs continued to recover in 2022, with more than 60,825 local jobs, a 5% increase in Seattle and King County

The new BIA will be implemented starting in January of 2024.

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