As a community on a peninsula, West Seattle is often seen as parochial and insulated. A place meant for only locals, not on the way to anywhere.

The outward looking efforts to bring visitors here from a distance have been limited to events such as Summerfest, the Farmers Market, our Log House history museum and our local theater, ArtsWest.

A few years ago the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce reserved the domain name VisitWestSeattle.com and had a developer build the core graphics and themes for a website, but that effort has gone unfunded. A tourist, defined as someone who travels more than 40 miles for a visit, needs a reason to show up.

That means lodging here locally is a limiting factor with only one hotel. The Grove, and a smattering of bed and breakfasts. Right now AirBnB.com has 315 potential places to stay in West Seattle ranging from full homes to apartments and shared rooms ranging from $136 to $43 per night.

Typically out of town visitors choose to visit Pike Place Market, The Space Needle, Safeco Field and other widely publicized attractions rather than venture out to Seattle neighborhoods.

In an effort to build awareness of local West Seattle attractions, Salty’s on Alki and Lennon A. Curtin their Public Relations Director asked a group from Visit Seattle (formerly the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau) to take a day trip here a few weeks ago and sample what West Seattle has to offer. VisitSeattle.org is an organization with offices in the convention center downtown as well as on the east coast and midwest whose staff works with convention and event planners, tour companies, and many others to promote the tourism industry in Seattle and King County.

The 2014 year-end statistics, the most recent available, provided to Visit Seattle by the national research firm Tourism Economics, indicate that overnight visitor volumes in the city and county increased 3.7 percent in 2014 to 19.2 million – an all-time record. This compares to 3 percent growth in overnight visitations for the U.S. as a whole.

Seattle’s 2014 visitors spent $6.4 billion in the city and county, an impressive increase of 6.4 percent. When indirect and induced impacts of this direct spending are calculated, tourism in Seattle generated an estimated $9.2 billion total economic impact. Spending was up from 2013 in all domestic and international categories measured – lodging, food and beverage, retail, recreation, transportation (local) and air transport.

In 2014, travelers paid $643 million in state and local taxes (up 7.6 percent), and a total of $943 million including federal tax revenues.
Jobs supported by travel spending also increased in 2014. There were 70,640 travel related jobs (up 4.4 percent) in King County. These jobs represent 5.7 percent (1 in 18) of all jobs in the county. Direct jobs paid $2 billion in total income. When indirect and induced impacts were included, tourism generated $3.2 billion in labor income.

The Visit Seattle tour
Joined by Executive Director of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, Clay Eals, the group was picked up downtown in the Salty’s Van and first taken past the historic Admiral Theater to Hamilton Viewpoint for its signature view of the Seattle skyline. Local musician Justin Kausal-Hayes offered some guitar accompaniment.

With only a few hours, the itinerary had to be limited but most of the obvious spots in West Seattle were included.

The tour began at Salty’s for lunch with Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association where agreements to work more closely together were established. Then around the corner to Alki Ave and the beach. The Phoenicia Restaurant, whose casually elegant cuisine is known around the region was worth a visit with some food and wine samples, then a quick stop into Spud Fish and Chips, a fixture since 1935, for a look at the historical photos, followed by a visit to the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the Boy Scouts of America in 1952 (the original installation, redone in 2007).

Eals explained the story of the Denny Party’s landing at the Birthplace of Seattle monument at 63rd and Alki Ave SW. The group then walked to the Log House Museum for a look at the current exhibit and and explanation of how it and the 1904 built Alki Homestead (now being restored) came to be.

Back in the cars, they headed around Beach Drive for a look at the views and then back up to the Alaska Junction. The group filed into Bakery Nouveau for a glance at the amazing pastries, a fast cup of coffee and then across the street to Thunder Road Guitars where owner Frank Gross showed off his array of instruments from $250 to $10,000.

A quick walk into Talaricos to meet the Manager was next which was followed by a stop and conversation with Jack Miller at Husky Deli also a West Seattle original since the 1930’s.

They all had a sample of the famous house made ice cream. Up next was a look inside ArtsWest and a conversation with Artistic Director Mathew Wright about the theater’s impact on the community and its place in regional culture.

Easy Street Records was on the list and they met with owner Matt Vaughan who explained the nature of the record store/restaurant/performance space.

Vaughan came with the group as they walked north up to Beer Junction noting other shops like Fleurt, Wild Roses, Zamboanga and others along the way, They enjoyed some beer samples, and as a capper to the the day headed back down to Marination Ma Kai at Seacrest before heading back downtown on the Water Taxi.

The group as a whole was impressed with the quality of what West Seattle offers and enjoyed each stop. While a few of them live in West Seattle or have visited before most were not aware of pace of development here, and were pleasantly surprised that the community has retained the small town nature of businesses that offer unique shopping experiences. They noted the views, food and historical attractions as high points of their visit.

While the group did not take part, West Coast Entertainment in the Admiral District does offer Segway scooter tours here as well.

Eals said, "West Seattle is a natural for tourists to visit, if not as the first stop then a 'must,' because we are where Seattle began. That's where the Birthplace of Seattle slogan comes from. It's engraved in bold capital letters on the Alki Landing Monument that was dedicated in 1905 and that stands along the beach at 63rd and Alki.

"The Birthplace of Seattle story informs not only the facts of Seattle's founding but also the spirit of the city as a whole, including its independence, which is easy to see reflected in West Seattle's history as it relates to today. Examples include the beloved Alki Homestead, which was built as Fir Lodge back in 1904, which is in mid-restoration, and the streetcar lines built by the then-City of West Seattle that formed what endures as our charming and historic shopping hub, the Junction. And there is no better way to get the lay of the land in Seattle than to view downtown from our peninsula.”

Leading up to the visit, Curtin held meetings with community leaders to not only shape the itinerary but to brainstorm about how the community can best promote itself to a wider audience. Among the ideas that came up were a larger Westside Arts Fair, creating “tracks” for visitors with themes for more specific interests such as music or food, the promotion of the many walking/hiking trails in the area, pop-up art events, and a stronger presence on the VisitSeattle.org website.

Curtin said, “ I think West Seattle would benefit from more engagement with tourists which can be brought about through more participation with VisitSeattle and more innovative thinking. Another larger scale cultural event and ideas that show off the amazing talent we have here would make more people aware of West Seattle as a place to get to know.”

Visit Seattle’s spokesperson David Blandford V.P. Communications and Public Relations answered questions about West Seattle as a potential tourist destination.

What are the most attractive parts of West Seattle for people visiting the city?
Alki Beach and Harbor Avenue. Alki tends to draw people who want a beach experience or a nice spot to each lunch or dinner. Harbor Avenue is the terminus for the fast ferry, so quick trips and great views – also people like to rent kayaks or have lunch or dinner at Salty’s or Marination.

What are the factors that draw the most tourists to a neighborhood?
Specific attractions, museums or dining spots. Also festivals or special events. Some travelers just like to explore as well.
The group members noted:
· Concerts/Live Performances
· Festivals (Solstice, Oktoberfest, Capitol Hill Block Party)
· Farmer’s Markets
· Family Events (SeaFair Pirates)
· Fireworks
· Sporting Events (Pro/Community/Youth Tournaments)
· Heritage Events – (Pride Parade, Hispanic Heritage, Native American Celebrations, Chinese New Year, etc.)
· Grand Openings (Nordstrom Re-launch, McMenamins Hotel in Bothell, New Wineries/Breweries)
· Recreational Activities

What can people do to improve tourism?
Mainly, acknowledge that it’s important as an economic engine for our city and region and that its success is our success. Tourism helps the tax base, creates jobs and stimulates many other businesses outside the industry. Here in our area we tend to think of computer software, aerospace, e-commerce and other industries as the ones that matter. But tourism is the state’s fourth largest industry and shouldn’t be taken for granted. We need to keep marketing to ensure that visitors keep coming. It’s a very competitive industry.

With few lodging options in West Seattle does Air BnB have a role here?
Yes, for sure.

What kind of events draw tourists to a city or a neighborhood?
Food and cultural events are tops. West Seattle’s summer street festivals do well.

What are your impressions about West Seattle after your visit?
Well, actually, I live in West Seattle, so I’m not as clean an impression. And, I pledge to do all I can to keep tourists from visiting (no, kidding!).
 
I think West Seattle is a wonderful visitor excursion and a way to get a true sense of the mythic Seattle lifestyle. Water, recreation, great views, friendly and welcoming people.

Would it be helpful to have “tracks” that is, suggested themed itineraries for West Seattle such as Foodie, Sustainability, Music, History and so on?
Yes, indeed. That level of focus will help target tourism markets – and they’re all different. Demographics, psychographics and many other factors all matter.

Here’s the Tourism outlook for the past year from VisitSeattle.org
Notable in the report is that China is now the number 1 overseas inbound tourism market for Seattle.