Seattle’s population is expected to grow by 1.2% annually through 2027 – triple the projected growth of 0.4% per year for the U.S. as a whole.

Tourism is on the rise, with passenger activity at Seattle-Tacoma airport at robust levels.

The city hosted 3.5 million visitors in Summer 2023 – the highest since 2019 – as vacationers poured in to attend Major League Baseball games and the Taylor Swift concert.

Demand for hotel rooms is growing, and both hotel occupancy rates and hotel room revenues are expected to grow in 2024.

As of September 2023, more than half of all workers are on-site in the office.

Source: September 13, 2023. CoStar, BLS, STR, Downtown Seattle Association, Port of Seattle, City of Seattle Recovery Plan Performance Report, CBRE, Oxford Economics

Seattle’s tourism is driven by its status as a top cruise destination, as well as its premier venues for conventions, sports and the arts:

• The Seattle Convention Center recently concluded a $2 billion expansion and rebranding program.
• The Convention Center hosted more than 50 conventions in 2023, expected to generate an estimated $300m in economic impact. For 2024, over 50 events have already been booked.
• Nearly 400,000 hotel rooms were sold in downtown Seattle in June 2024, the highest since March 2020. Nationally, the final week of June, Seattle’s hotel demand was the third highest in the country, trailing only New York City and Oahu.
• Lumen Field will host several landmark events, including the NHL Winter Classic in 2024, the first and second rounds of the NCAA playoffs in 2025, and The World Cup in 2026.

• Seattle’s three cruise terminals are all within a short distance of Pacific Place, including one in easy walking distance.
• Cruise traffic continues to rise with 291 cruise ships carrying a record 1.8 million passengers departing from Seattle to Alaska alone over the course of 2023.
• Pacific Place reaches cruise passengers via Visit Seattle and the Pike Place Market Visitor Center.

Source: ​ September 13, 2023. CoStar, BLS, STR, Downtown Seattle Association, Port of Seattle, City of Seattle Recovery Plan Performance Report, CBRE, Oxford Economics

Seattle is home to three major sports venues that are all situated just over one mile from Pacific Place, including:

• Climate Pledge Arena, hosted 50 NBA and NHL games in 2023, with an average attendance of 10,000 – 17,000 fans at each game.
• Lumen Field, which hosted 42 sporting events in 2023, including nine Seattle Seahawks games with attendance of more than 68,000 fans at each game.
• T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners, which hosted 81 home games throughout 2023, accommodating more than 28,000 fans at each game.

Seattle’s sports arenas convert to premier concert venues in the off-season, making the city a year-round destination.

• In 2023, blockbuster performers including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Metallica, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran played Lumen Field.
• Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks and Carrie Underwood are planning tour stops at Climate Pledge arena.

Seattle is a hub for arts and culture, with more than 80 theater companies, as well as the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Seattle Symphony, and four major art museums and galleries including:

• The Frye Art Museum
• Henry Art Gallery
• Seattle Art Museum
• Seattle Asian Art Museum

Seattle continues to invest in a vast and modern public transportation system that provides both visitors and residents with easy access to downtown destinations. This infrastructure includes options for traveling on land and on the Puget Sound, including a network of buses, street cars, ferries, water taxis, monorail and Link Light rail trains.