As various travel restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic have been eased, the Seattle tourism market is also starting to stretch.<\/p>\n
Industry insiders say there is still a long way to go to reach pre-pandemic levels, but there are signs of recovery in several areas.<\/p>\n
According to the tourism industry, the tourism industry is reviving, with hotel occupancy gradually increasing in Seattle and other King County areas.<\/p>\n
According to the industry status report recently published by Visit Seattle, downtown Seattle hotel occupancy increased by 11% and King County by 8% from January to February, respectively. Over the past four weeks, hotel occupancy across the county has reached 56%.<\/p>\n
According to industry sources, Seattle tourism peaked by breaking new records every year from 2018 to 2019, just before the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
During the peak season, Seattle hotel reservations are still far short of when compared to when the sky was a star, but the industry sees it as a positive sign.<\/p>\n
Other tourism sectors are also slowly opening up.<\/p>\n
According to the industry, a total of 296 cruises departing or arriving from Seattle this year, and the average daily number of passengers at SeaTac Airport is 43,000.<\/p>\n
In addition, the Washington State Convention Center, where various international conferences were held, has already booked a number of conferences with a total of 24,000 people expected to attend, including the animation event in April.<\/p>\n
Walker Willingham, who runs a business at Pike Place, Seattle’s first tourist spot, said, “The barriers to travel to the US are now back to pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n
The opening of the Canadian border is also expected to act as another positive for Seattle tourism.<\/p>\n
From the 1st, visitors entering or returning to Canada across the border will no longer be required to submit a corona-negative certificate.<\/p>\n
“Canadian tourists make up half of our customers,” said Allison Russell, Canmore Airlines, a provider of seaplane tours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"