Visit Spokane is the destination management organization for Spokane County and its jurisdictions. As the primary programmatic arm for Spokane’s travel and tourism promotion, it leads the Spokane tourism industry to work together to generate visitor spending by developing and implementing comprehensive destination management programs. It is a self-governing private not-for-profit corporation with a Board of Directors elected by dues paying members.

Mission Statement

The mission of Visit Spokane is to help promote economic development for Spokane County through tourism and tourism promotion. 

Brand Promise

Visit Spokane is a creative, entrepreneurial, market driven leader that champions and protects the Spokane destination brand by bringing knowledgeable leadership and innovative programming to its regional community.

Funding

With funding from dedicated lodging taxes, the Tourism Promotion Area (TPA), business improvement district and private membership investments, Visit Spokane has a current operating budget of $4.2 million dollars. An 18-member board of directors, made up of diverse industry partners and stakeholders, oversees our operations.

2011 Program Results

• 
  The Group Sales program generated 524 group leads representing 191,224 room nights for meetings, conventions and group tours that led to 56,523 confirmed room nights booked. That translates into $379,926,981 in direct visitor spending.
• Reports from Destination Analysts and Randall Travel Marketing reinforce the fact that Visit Spokane’s websites have a strong conversion rate and positively influence people to visit and/or extend their stays. The resulting visitor spending is estimated at $18,067,110.
• Visit Spokane's programs in 2011 were responsible for generating $398 million in total direct visitor spending for Spokane County.
• Convention Services assisted 934 convention groups. On average, there were 103 distinct convention groups assisted every month. The services team generated 1,068 referrals to local businesses.
• Getting the word out about the Spokane region as a destination generated earned media placements nationwide that are more credible to consumers than paid advertisements. Visit Spokane’s public relations efforts are responsible for $2,038,742 in earned media this past year. The publications, broadcast outlets and websites featuring Spokane reach a circulation of more than 115,188,000 people.
• Visit Spokane continues to boast a strong membership base with 58 new members joining in 2011. Our current membership roll tallies 602 partner businesses.
• Another business development figure we are proud of is our retention rate – we sustained 92% of our members and 94% of our dues revenues this year. This represents a 2.5% increase over last year. We interpret these strong figures to indicate that our industry partners and community leaders agree our programs provide value and make a difference in our quality of life and the local economy.
• Visit Spokane staff and volunteers greeted 13,777 visitors at the Visitor Information Center, served 4,641 visitors over the phone and mailed information packets to 5,801 potential visitors.
• Hospitality training remains a high priority with 967 trained CTAs in the Spokane region. On a scale of 1-5, Spokane’s CTA Program boosts a 4.62 overall satisfaction rating. Spokane is home to the 2012 National CTA of the Year, Larry Killstrom, Security Ambassador Director, Downtown Spokane Partnership.

Visit Spokane 2012 Tourism Research Study-Randall Travel Marketing

In order to better understand the visitors to Spokane, a joint effort led by Visit Spokane along with the Public Facilities District, Spokane Regional Sports Commission, Downtown Spokane Partnership and Avista underwrote a year-long research project. Randall Travel Marketing was retained to capture the voice of the visitor and explore what attracts them to the region. What are their likes and dislikes? What is the purpose of their trip and what do they do when they are visiting? The study also looked at Spokane as a destination regarding gateways and signage, attractions, visitor infrastructure and services, and how Visit Spokane is implementing programs with the tourism industry to attract visitors.

The study results and recommendations will enable Visit Spokane and the regional tourism industry to further refine messages that will lead to greater visitation. Read the full Randall Study Executive Summary 

Visit Spokane is

responsible for the integrated process of managing the destination. The essential purpose is to increase visitation to Spokane in a more comprehensive and balanced manner acknowledging both tourist demand and supply parameters. Key elements include visitor assistance, visitor mix, marketing communications, promotion, advocacy, and destination partnership formations. With the new thinking of destination management, the DMO is involved in land use policy, economic development, and destination development in addition to promoting the
existing tourism products and services.

Program oversight is performed by an elected and appointed board of directors comprised of a regional business leaders, tourism professionals, and representatives from funding partners.

Why is it important to promote tourism?

In 2010, visitors spent  $856 million in Spokane County, providing jobs for 9,240 residents and generating $56.9 million in state and local taxes and $312 dollars of tax relief for every household in Spokane County. These figures were provided by Dean Runyan Associates in a January 2012 report to the Washington State Office of Trade and Economic Impact. To view the report in its entirety, click here: Washington State Travel Impacts & Visitor Volume 2001-2011p

News from Visit Spokane

• December 13, 2012 - News From Visit Spokane
• November 15, 2012 - News From Visit Spokane
• October 18, 2012 - CVB Upd@te
• August 24, 2012 - CVB Upd@te
• July 13, 2012 - CVB Upd@te