Super Bowl expected to boost Seattle tourism
Feb 4, 2014, 2:47 PM | Updated: 5:49 pm
It's taking longer than expected for tourism to recover in post-pandemic Seattle. (AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
The Seahawks Super Bowl win might mean big business for Seattle tourism.
“Seattle was certainly on the national, international stage and has been for a number of weeks,” Tom Norwalk, President and CEO of Visit Seattle, tells KIRO Radio’s Morning News. “It’s a lot of people hearing about Seattle, seeing shots of Seattle.”
Tourism in the city has been on an upward trend says Norwalk, who notes the most recent visitor tallies showed around 10.2 million visitors to the Seattle/King County area in 2012.
“It was a record,” says Norwalk. “Our visits have been on a great growth pattern. We did hit a record occupancy for Seattle hotels last year of 79 percent, which is pretty amazing when many people still think of us as a seasonal city.”
Visit Seattle has been running a ‘2 Days in Seattle’ campaign around the country. They even put a few ads out in New York during Super Bowl week. The ads show Seattle scenes most tourists may not be familiar with.
“It’s all of the other things that all of us that live here love. It’s arts and culture. It’s music. It’s wine. It’s food. It’s eclectic things outside and around the market. It’s the waterfront and the wheel. It’s a combination of everything,” says Norwalk. “We’ve chosen to show that in an incredibly visual, big way with billboards and bus wraps and train wraps.”
Norwalk thinks all the extra exposure Seattle is getting due to its Super Bowl winning Seahawks will only lead visitor numbers to increase.
