Visit Seattle Unveils 2025 Summer Visitation Data and Honors Community Leader Reshaping Downtown 

Seattle’s visitor economy enjoyed several bright moments this summer, though macroeconomic headwinds continue to hamper the tourism industry nationwide

SEATTLE – Visit Seattle, the official destination marketing organization (DMO) for Seattle and King County, released summer performance data at its second annual Ovation today. During the event, the DMO also highlighted the importance of the arts for our downtown and honored a community leader who has led the efforts behind programming for the city’s reimagined waterfront. 

Held at the historic Moore Theatre, Ovation included a panel of local arts and culture leaders from Friends of Waterfront Park; Seattle Art Museum; Seattle Symphony and Benaroya Hall; and Common Area Maintenance. Moderated by Anh Nguyen of Allen Family Philanthropies, the group discussed how their organizations are creating a more vibrant downtown, aided by $9 million in grants from Allen Family Philanthropies. 

Community Leader of the Year

Visit Seattle also announced the creation of a new multi-category awards program to debut at Ovation in 2026. During today’s event, the organization debuted one of the awards by recognizing Friends of Waterfront Park President & CEO Joy Shigaki as the 2025 Community Leader of the Year, in celebration of her work developing engaging programming for the city’s new Waterfront Park. 

 “Seattle’s story is one of vision, innovation, and collaboration — of people coming together to reimagine what’s possible for our city,” Shigaki said.” After 15 years away, I didn’t expect to return home so soon, but being part of this historic moment for my hometown has been an incredible honor. At Waterfront Park, we see every day how Seattle shines when we bring out the best in our people — artists, residents, neighbors, and local businesses — who together are shaping a vibrant, welcoming city.”   

Holding steady amid a challenging moment for U.S. hotels 

Nationwide, the tourism and hotel industries are facing economic and international headwinds that have impacted both leisure and business visitation. Data from the hotel analytics firm STR shows this trend is evident across the country. Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) has seen scant year-over-year growth of 0.2%, the lowest year-to-date RevPAR growth rate ever recorded excluding recessionary periods and 2020. 

In Seattle, the total number of rooms sold this summer fell just shy of summer 2024, and Average Daily Rate (ADR) dipped by 0.3%. Though, there were bright spots, including a successful cruise season, a strong month for convention business in July, and steady demand from leisure visitors with isolated bumps in occupancy during major concerts. 

The summer highlights include:  

• The completion of Waterfront Park, a 20-acre gem for Seattle’s downtown. 

• Six FIFA Club World Cup matches featuring countries and fanbases from around the world. 

• 70-plus professional sporting events, 20-plus large-venue concerts, and more than 130 community events that brought locals and visitors downtown. 

• July brought the highest monthly occupancy rate of the summer at 89.2%, virtually matching 2019’s rate of 89.4%. The month benefited from an exceptional base of group business taking place at Seattle Convention Center. The month’s contracted convention room night total was the highest monthly total in 14 years. 

• Leisure demand remained strong in August, as is typical for a Seattle summer. Occupancy for downtown reached 85.8%, slightly ahead of the same period last year, 85.7%. 

• Overall, occupancy in the larger Seattle Metro market ranked among the top three each month in STR’s Top 25 U.S. markets. 

“The resilience of both our city and tourism economy has been on full display this summer,” Visit Seattle President & CEO Tammy Canavan said. “We are not immune to the headwinds facing every destination in the country. Despite them, we’ve held our own, and look to build on that performance next summer, when welcoming visitors from across the globe during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.”

About Visit Seattle
Visit Seattle has served as the official destination marketing organization (DMO) for Seattle and King County for more than 50 years. A 501(c)(6) organization, Visit Seattle enhances the economic prosperity of the region through global destination branding along with competitive programs and campaigns in leisure travel marketing, convention sales, and overseas tourism development. Visit visitseattle.org.