Whatcom County’s tourism revenue continues steady climb; which sectors are most affected?

Whatcom County has grown as a tourist destination, as the annual direct travel spending in 2023 has increased another year in a row, according to a recent report.

Visitor spending in Whatcom County increased in 2023, up 9.1% compared to 2022, to reach $750.8 million in 2023, according to data release by Tourism Economics.

“We are thrilled that visitor spending has reached three-quarters of a billion dollars in impact, highlighting the importance of tourism to our local economy,” Visit Bellingham Whatcom County CEO Dylan Deane-Boyle stated in a news release. “The taxes generated from visitor spending help improve the quality of life for those living in Bellingham and Whatcom County, subsidizing the amenities and infrastructure that make our area a wonderful place to live while reducing the household tax burden by more than $700.”

The news release shows the growth of visitor spending across five categories: food and beverage, recreation and arts, accommodations, transportation and retail sales.

The amount of Whatcom County visitors increased from 3.27 million in 2022 to 3.42 million in 2023, according to supplemental study data.

Visitors also spent more in 2023, as the per-day impact for an overnight traveling party was $299, up from $245 in 2022. The per-trip impact in 2023 was $1,129, up from $965 in 2022.

“While it’s always wonderful to welcome more visitors to Whatcom County, we’re even more pleased to see an increase in per-visitor spend,” said Deane-Boyle.

The report also compared visitor spending from 2017 through 2023, showing continuous growth year after year except for 2020 when tourism dropped by 31.4% during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report notes the “tourism recovery” that occurred after the COVID-19 pandemic, and how certain sectors of Whatcom County’s economy took longer than others to bounce back.

“When broken down, tourism recovery numbers in Whatcom County vary dramatically across sectors,” the report states. “Recreation, food and beverage, and accommodations all saw continued growth at 9% or more, with recreation growing the most at 11.4%. In other areas, notably tourism jobs, the numbers tell a different story. Although jobs grew 38.8% in 2022, slightly exceeding the level of jobs seen pre-pandemic, this growth did not continue into 2023, when the industry saw a 0.077% growth rate.”

This story was originally published May 29, 2024 at 11:50 AM.

Alyse Smith

The Bellingham Herald

Alyse Smith is a reporter at The Bellingham Herald covering retail, restaurants, jobs and business. If you like stories like this, please consider supporting our work with a subscription to our newspaper.