(The Center Square) – The latest statistics from the Downtown Seattle Association reveal that in July Seattle had the highest number of visitors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
There were 3.05 million recorded visitors last month, surpassing the previous post-pandemic high in August 2022 by just under 3,500 people visiting Seattle’s downtown area. The number of visitors in July is approximately 91,500 short of August 2019 when 3.1 million people went downtown.
The high rate of visitors to Seattle in July is due to a number of events that occurred throughout the month. This includes a weekend of Taylor Swift concerts, the city hosting the Major League Baseball All-Star game, the Capitol Hill Block Party music festival, the Toronto Blue Jays playing the Seattle Mariners, the Bite of Seattle food festival and peak-cruise season.
According to the Downtown Seattle’s Association’s latest report, the weekend of July 22-23 saw 1.2 million visits to the downtown core. That was the weekend that included Taylor Swift shows, Seattle Mariners games and people traveling to the Bite of Seattle festival in the Seattle Center. The 1.2 million visits marked the highest two-day count since late April 2018.
On Saturday, July 22, Seattle set a single-day record for hotel revenue with $7.4 million.
Other statistics from the Downtown Seattle Association’s latest report include the rate of occupied apartments in the district. Last month, the rate of occupied apartments climbed to 112% of pre-pandemic levels, signaling the downtown area’s continuing trend toward becoming a more residential district.
July also had the highest level of weekday worker foot traffic since the start of the pandemic, with 55% of July 2019’s full foot traffic. The Downtown Seattle Association stated that this marks the third straight month where worker foot-traffic levels have surpassed 50% compared to the same month in 2019.
The Downtown Seattle Association is anticipating a steady flow of people going to the downtown core this month. This is partially due to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Officials’ and Ministerial meetings being held in downtown Seattle through Monday. According to Visit Seattle, an estimated 3,000 attendees are expected to generate approximately $13 million in economic impact to the city.
