Visit Seattle releases hotel occupancy rates for March, showing visitor numbers are up but not yet back to pre-pandemic levels.
SEATTLE — Seattle is now four years into the pandemic, when tourism plummeted. The city has not yet fully recovered in visitor numbers, but it is making progress.
Visit Seattle recently released its hotel occupancy numbers for March. It shows that visitor numbers have increased since the pandemic, but have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Hotel occupancy rates for March over the past six years are as follows:
Business owners say the number of tourists is increasing and they feel the city is on the right track to bring back tourists.
“We're definitely seeing a steady increase in people coming back, but we're not there yet,” said Neil James, owner of Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on the waterfront. “I hope this is a good summer, but we’ll see.”
Ye Olde Curiosity Shop has been in Seattle since 1899 and has been owned by James' family since the beginning.
“My great-grandfather started it,” James said.
He said the store has always been frequented by tourists and it's a tough time for them as tourism has been hit hard by the pandemic.
“It's been tough, but it's even tougher here because we've all already been through all the construction that's been going on here for so long,” James said of construction in the waterfront area.
Neal said the number of visitors has increased every summer since the pandemic, and he expects that trend to continue.
“I don't think I'll feel like I'm fully back until probably next year,” James said. “But we're hopeful that this summer will be at least close to a normal summer, or very close to it.”
Although Neil's business is slow on the waterfront, businesses in Pioneer Square also get a lot of business from tourists.
“There are three hotels within a three-block radius,” says Jesse Spring, owner of Bud Bishop in Pioneer Square. “So, it's really, really helpful. And we have underground tours here, and some people go to baseball games and soccer games.”
Spring said business and tourist foot traffic has picked up and he expects that to continue.
“Just watching people go up and down the street and more and more car traffic,” Spring said. “It's been steadily increasing and it's really great to see.”
He said large events seem to draw a lot of tourists, and he hopes the city will continue to host shows, attractions and sporting events that will attract tourists.
