Template revised April 12, 2018.
COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Item No.
11b
BRIEFING ITEM
Date of Meeting
January 10, 2023
DATE: December 10, 2022
TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Dave McFadden, Managing Director, Economic Development
Nick Leonti, Director, Tourism Development
SUBJECT: Tourism Development Briefing
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This briefing will provide an overview of Tourism’s efforts in 2022 and provide insight on what is
to come in 2023. The pandemic has changed the face of tourism and the Port’s team is focused
on continuing to rebuild in a smart, responsible and equitable fashion. As a primary gateway for
international visitors and the gateway to Alaska cruising, tourism is a top export of King County
and Washington State and a vital segment of the economy.
In 2022 the Port continued its partnership with State of Washington Tourism (SWT) to promote
recovery. Having seen the benefits of the $1.5 million dollar Port investment with SWT’s recovery
initiative, budget has been designated for 2023 to further strengthen that relationship.
The return of in-person events in 2022 and the lifting of international travel restrictions, helped
bring a sense of normalcy and optimism to the industry. Trade shows, familiarization tours and
press trips were all back on the table as international marketing resumed. For the Port, this meant
re-committing to traditionally strong markets such as the United Kingdom and Germany while
also seeking out new markets that can bring increased ROI.
The Port hosted international media, tour operators and more throughout 2022 and worked with
local partners and cruise lines to keep Washington at top-of-mind in the travel trade.
2022 may have started with the baby steps of the industry’s recovery, but in 2023 we are reaching
our full stride. A full slate of industry trade shows and events present the Port’s tourism team
with the opportunity to power the state’s full recovery to beyond 2019 levels.
The tourism industry has proven its resilience and is continuing to find new ways to build back
stronger and smarter than before with an increased priority on sustainable, responsible and
equitable strategies.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11b Page 2 of 6
Meeting Date: January 10, 2023
Template revised September 22, 2016.
TOURISM TRENDS
The tourism industry is experiencing uneven recovery out of the pandemic. Some destinations
and attractions have already achieved or exceeded 2019 levels, while others lag behind. Bridging
the gap between these destinations is a top priority.
2022 saw cruise eclipse pre-pandemic levels with 1.28 million revenue passengers. Overall
passengers into SEA inched closer to 2019 levels with 48.9 million passengers passing through
the gates.
International visitors who stay longer, spend more, visit urban and rural areas, and visit in off-
peak times are returning and remain a focus for the tourism team. Asian markets continue to lag
behind Europe and the UK.
Desire to travel is high and international flights have recovered to over 60% nationwide, but the
industry still faces major headwinds to full recovery due to consumer sentiment, economic
factors and continued health concerns.
2022 Highlights
The return of in-person events brought a sense of normalcy to the tourism industry in 2023. The
Port was able to resume trade shows, sales missions and other industry events. Lifting of
international travel restrictions in late 2021 also enabled the Port to host familiarization tours
and press trips once again in 2022.
The Port was able to host 26 familiarization tour attendees in 2022. The total cost to conduct the
FAM efforts was $65,223.36 with the Port’s $12,395.16 contribution leveraged by $53,062.20 of
in-kind support from Port partners to make the programs happen.
The Port had a strong market presence in the UK, Germany and Australia.
WHY UNITED KINGDOM:
• UK is the USA’s biggest overseas market representing 8% of all inbound travel - 4.87M in
2019.
• The UK/Ireland is Seattle’s largest long-haul market with direct air service via American
Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Aer Lingus.
• 2M Brits cruised in 2019 and via our CLIA UK relationship, we target 8,000 cruise travel
advisors
WHY AUSTRALIA:
• 35+million Australians cruised in 2019.
• Australia leads the established cruise markets in penetration rates - one in 17
Australians cruise.
• Australian holidays (19-21 days) provide plenty of time to explore the Pacific Northwest
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11b Page 3 of 6
Meeting Date: January 10, 2023
Template revised September 22, 2016.
WHY GERMANY:
• Germany is the largest and wealthiest source market in Continental Europe.
• Number three in the world for tourism expenditures - USD $93.2B. Total population of
“only” 83M with 2M Germans traveling to the USA pre-pandemic.
• Direct air service into SEA via Lufthansa and Condor (Alaskan Airlines partner) plus easy
connections via Delta and Icelandair.
• Rapidly growing source market for cruise vacations.
• Extremely strong partnership in Germany between Port and NCL for trainings and
promotions.
• Germans as a rule have 30 days of paid vacation and enjoy 12 public holidays.
The Port hosted media and travel trade from the US and around the globe including Germany,
Ireland, and the UK.
Earned Media Value by Market
UK
Distribution 3,115,183
Open rate for online 35% +
Earned Media Value $265,864.00
NOTE: The UK program was only in operation for 7 months in 2022. Several of our published
stories have not been included in the values as we are currently without a clipping service. Our
partners CityPASS and Greenrubino have kindly assisted for this report.
NOTE: The UK London Sales Mission broadcast media interviews which included Skye News
Radia, Share Radio, Talking Feature Network, and others, reached a total audience of more than
25 million.
Australia
Distribution 34,816,538
Open rate for online 30%
Earned Media Value $985,655.00
NOTE: The Australian program was in operation for 6 months in 2022. For 2022, the Linkd
team provided more than 80 published pieces on behalf of POS efforts.
Germany
Distribution 3,287,670
Open rate for online 30%
Earned Media Value $95,498.00
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11b Page 4 of 6
Meeting Date: January 10, 2023
Template revised September 22, 2016.
Cellet Travel Solutions was contracted by the Port to be its official in-market representation in
the United Kingdom and Ireland. With its many options of non-stop flights, The UK is the top
international market for Washington and having Cellet on the ground in-market will be key to
our success. Through the agreement with Cellet, the Port also gains representation in Germany
through GetItAcross Marketing.
The tourism department designed and coordinated a London Sales Mission including State of
Washington Tourism, the Port of Seattle, and Visit Seattle representatives, from March 28-April
1, 2022. The delegation hosted events for more than 150 tour operators and media, as well as a
schedule of sales calls throughout the city. Broadcast media interviews included Skye News Radia,
Share Radio, Talking Feature Network, and others, with a total audience of more than 25 million.
The Port remains a strong member of CLIA – the Cruise Lines International Association – to work
directly with the cruise industry in our global markets. Cellet also maintains our CLIA presence in
the UK.
The Port worked with tour operators on campaigns to promote Seattle as the Gateway to Alaska,
“Cruise & Stay” messaging and a top destination for responsible outdoor tourism.
The Port worked with international cruise line offices on campaigns to promote Seattle as the
Gateway to Alaska. Confirmed projects included NCL German Road Show plus tour operator
promotions with Barrhead Travel Service, Gold Medal's Cruise Plus, Tour America, Travelpack,
Iglu, CANUSA, Cruise 118, American Holidays, and Flight Centre.
The Port attended key trade shows in-person for the first time since 2019 including IPW, the
largest international travel show in the US and Brand USA Travel Week in Frankfurt, Germany.
Our team met face-to-face with over 100 tour operators and travel media over the course of the
year.
The Tourism Recovery Initiative with SWT concluded midway through 2022 and resulted in many
successes as presented to the commission last summer. Memo from 7/8/2022 meeting covers
these efforts in-depth.
The Tourism Marketing Support Program provided matching funds of $5-10k to 25 local tourism
partners with projects focused on attracting visitors from out-of-state markets. The 2022 TMSP
resulting actual Port expenditure is $183,018.47 with an actual match fund amount of
$127,434.46 for a grand total of $310,452.93. Further, $79,000 will be supporting equity and
cultural tourism values and $121,000 will support ecotourism and responsible travel. Marketing
efforts will include media visits, online digital campaigns, events/cultural attractions, trade
shows, and collateral and video production. See appendix for full list of 2022 awardees.
The Spotlight advertising program provided free ad-space at SEA for over 50 different local
partners. The total value of these ads is over $200k.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11b Page 5 of 6
Meeting Date: January 10, 2023
Template revised September 22, 2016.
The tourism team played a significant role in the organization of the inaugural Responsible
Outdoor Travel Summit along with SWT and Commissioners Felleman and Hasegawa. The event
was well-attended and well-received and will act as a launching pad for the Port’s future
responsible tourism efforts.
A key effort to promote diversity for Tourism Development was the design and coordination of
Seattle feature for the TV documentary, Story of Art in America. 10 USA destinations are
featured with our episode highlighting artists from the Wing Luke Museum, National Nordic
Museum, MoPOP, Northwest African American Museum, the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe’s
Carving Shed and SEA International Airport. Not a travelog, the feature provides an in-depth look
at the influences of the Pacific Northwest on the artists’ work. The goal of the Port’s coordination
of the project was to provide potential travelers with insight into the remarkable diverse culture
of art in our region and unique ideas for traveling to Seattle post-Covid. It is currently being aired
globally on Amazon Prime Video: Seattle, Washington - Story of Art (average viewership per
month 4,000) and on Ovation TV, a TV network which reaches out to 50 million households.
Crafted, coordinated, and developed script for Traveling With Denella Ri’chard’s TV feature
Seattle: Cruise & Stay. Program was sponsored by Port’s Cruise Operations Department ($18,500
pay-to-play) and Tourism ($20,653 total itinerary costs/Tourism paid $16,851/Partners
contributed $3,802). Networks airing the 22-minute program throughout the USA include ABC,
NBC, FOX, CBS, and CW reaching millions of viewers. Global OTT and streaming outlets include
Plex TV, Select TV, Local Now, & the GFNTV Roku app reach fifty million people. In addition, the
program is viewed by some seven million people on DistroTV, TikiLive, SimulTV, CJC, and more.
Enough content obtained to also create two one-hour features on King 5 TV and Kong 7 TV which
will air on Christmas and New Year’s
2022 also saw the release of the Port’s new Seattle: Cruise & Stay Guide featuring the Port of
Seattle’s award-winning airport and cruise infrastructure as well as information on Seattle’s
amazing and diverse tourism opportunities, highlights of an Alaska cruise, and ideas for exploring
Washington state. The new 22-page Guide will be distributed digitally and in-print by Tourism’s
international representatives, at trade shows, during sales missions and for cruise industry
training sessions.
2023 TOURISM PRIORITIES
Strengthen relationship with SWT and Visit Seattle to maximize reach and ROI
As three organizations with a global reach, it is vital that the Port work with SWT and Visit Seattle
to maximize our impact in the global market. We are striving for new levels of cooperation with
shared in-market representation, collaboration on trade shows and streamlining our calendars
so as to avoid duplication. When these three powerful organizations work together, all
destinations across Washington state benefit.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11b Page 6 of 6
Meeting Date: January 10, 2023
Template revised September 22, 2016.
Re-build and expand international markets
International visitors are key to generating positive economic impacts of tourism. In conjunction
with Visit Seattle and SWT, we are strategizing markets to focus on in 2023. The effects of the
pandemic continue to ripple through the industry and some markets are better fits than others
in regards to travel-readiness, disposable income, travel interests, non-stop flights and more. We
are always seeking out visitors who share Washington’s priorities of responsible travel and
generate maximum economic impact. In addition to strengthening our presence in the UK,
Germany, and Australia, we will explore efforts in partnership with SWT and Visit Seattle in
markets such as South Korea, Benelux, Japan, Scandinavia and Mexico.
Prioritize responsible, sustainable and equitable tourism with special emphasis on the Tourism
Marketing Support Program
As we focus more on responsible tourism and its pillars of inclusion, sustainability and respect
for the environment, the tourism department is finding ways to make a positive impact. On the
marketing side, that means working with the travel trade to engage, educate and attract visitors
who share the same values. We have also put extra emphasis on using tourism grant programs
to support local partners who have embrace responsible practices. Bringing the positive impact
of tourism to all our region’s communities in an equitable fashion including Native American and
other traditionally under-represented partners is always top-of-mind.
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING
(1) Presentation slides
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS
January 4, 2022 – Tourism Development Summary briefing to Port Commissioners
February 23, 2021 – Washington Tourism Alliance briefing to Port Commissioners
December 15, 2020 – Commissioners authorized the Executive Director to approve execution
of all contract agreements for the 2021 Tourism Marketing Support Program
July 28, 2020 – The Commission authorized the Executive Director to execute a $1.5 million
joint marketing agreement with Washington Tourism Alliance (WTA) to promote tourism
recovery
