2026 Data Symposium

Visit Seattle’s Data Symposium provided economic insights and forecasts from local and national industry experts, updates on major destination demand drivers, and perspectives from the Visit Seattle team. This program was designed for hospitality and tourism leaders in Seattle and King County who manage strategy and budget decisions for their businesses, and for those interested in data pertaining to the tourism economy.

7:00am – Doors Open & Networking Breakfast

8:00am – Welcome

8:10am – Resident Sentiment Survey Recap

Eun Kleinheksel – Business Intelligence Director; Visit Seattle

8:15am – Macroeconomic Overview & Tourism Outlook

Patrick Smyton – Director of Analytics; Tourism Economics

8:40am – State of Downtowns

Adam Chapman – Managing Director; JLL

8:55am – Airport Statistics & Forecasting

Ian Sharma – Assistant Director, Airport Business | Head of Air Service Development; Port of Seattle

9:10am – Hotel Forecasting

Peter Andersen – Senior Director of Convention Strategy; Visit Seattle & Seattle Convention Center

9:25am – Meetings & Conventions Forecasting

Kelly Saling – EVP, Sales & Marketing and Chief Business Officer; Visit Seattle

9:40am – International Trends

Tammy Canavan – President & CEO; Visit Seattle

Data Symposium Breakout Tracks

10:30am – Track #1
Charting Seattle’s Next Wave of Demand: Data Driven Insights for 2027

Presented by Expedia Group

10:30am – Track #2
Cruise Trends: Global Insights, Local Impact, and Future Opportunities

Presented by The Port of Seattle and CLIA