Industry Update: September 2025

Photo courtesy of Visit Spokane

Win a Trip to Port Ludlow! Register Early for the State Tourism Conference

Don’t forget to register for the 2025 State of Washington Tourism Conference by this Friday, Sept. 5, to be entered to win a gift certificate for an incredible stay at the Resort at Port Ludlow. If you are already registered, you will be entered automatically.

This year’s tourism conference features exciting new programming, including an awards dinner in the Grand Pennington Ballroom of the Davenport Hotel, expanded industry awards, new skill-sharing sessions and workshops, a keynote conversation with Eric Edge from Alaska Airlines, and updates on the 2026 FIFA World 26™ from the host committee and Visit Seattle. We hope you will join us for networking, education, and idea sharing from around the state.

New Hotel Block Added

An overflow block has been added at The Centennial Hotel, located across Riverfront Park from the conference venue. Rooms are available for a group rate of $139 per night plus applicable taxes and fees. The deadline to book is Sept. 23 to qualify for the group rate. Book Your Room.

Pre-Conference Tours

Attendees can explore more of Spokane with optional pre-conference tours on Oct. 8. Tours are available to book during registration.

Learn More and Register

SWT Launches Refreshed Website Design

SWT is excited to roll out a refreshed look for StateofWAtourism.com, SWT’s consumer-facing website. As part of the update, SWT’s tourism regions have been consolidated from 11 to seven, with the goal of better matching visitor search intent and providing a streamlined user experience. Visitors to StateofWAtourism.com will notice more prominent destination photography and more opportunities for users to discover relevant planning resources and inspirational content. Additional website design improvements will continue to roll out in the coming months.

French Content Creators Visit Washington

SWT recently hosted French content creators and travel bloggers, Nos Curieux Voyageur. Marion is a travel writer, and Maxime is a professional photographer. They traveled in an RV exploring North Cascades National Park and the Olympic Peninsula before making their way to White Salmon for an overnight stay at Under Canvas. The duo beautifully highlights destinations and has shared their experiences in Washington State on Instagram, @noscurieuxvoyageurs.

SWT is planning now for fall FAMS. Want to get involved? Email Lisa Kruse to grow tourism for your region, city, or business!

Reminder: Free Locl Access for Washington Tourism Businesses

Don’t miss out! State of Washington Tourism has partnered with Locl to offer free access to a powerful platform designed to boost your online visibility and simplify business operations. Locl helps you manage your Google Business Profile, improve local SEO, track performance, and more—all in one place. It’s quick to sign up, easy to use, and completely free for tourism and hospitality-facing businesses in Washington. Need help or have questions? Contact Locl here or use the chatbot inside your Locl account.

Create an Account

Upcoming Skillshop Will Focus on AI Chatbots

Chatbots will be the focus of the next Tourism Skillshop on Thursday, Sept. 25, at 10 a.m. Chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the tourism sector and society. Their integration is reshaping how businesses operate, how travelers plan and experience trips, and how people interact with digital systems on a daily basis.

Learn from Marina Petrova, the CEO and Co-Founder of Intentful, a technology company that enhances brand communication through AI-driven interactions, enabling real-time engagement between brands and consumers. She will provide an overview of AI assistants and their role in the tourism sector while addressing the challenges and opportunities for this technology in the years ahead. Webinar attendees will also hear from Elizabeth Tyler, VP of Marketing & Operations at the Skagit Tourism Bureau on how her destination organization selected Intentful for AI services and how these services enhance the consumer website and help the organization in other ways.

Matthew Ozuna, destination development manager for SWT, moderates the webinar series, and all webinars are recorded and available on the SWT YouTube channel.

Become a Tourism Advocate

With the end of federal grants, SWT’s operational funding is decreasing and will not sustain a statewide, year-round program in the future. Industry members are encouraged to join SWT’s free tourism advocate program to support tourism legislative efforts and stay connected to the statewide tourism industry.

Learn More and Sign Up

Submit Events to SWT Calendar

Destinations, festival organizers, and other organizations are invited to submit their events directly to SWT's event calendar. The events calendar is intended as a resource for visitors to and within the State of Washington who are seeking leisure activities. Expand the reach of your events by adding them to the calendar today!

Submit Events

Dates to Know: Conferences & More

State of Washington Tourism Conference: Oct. 8-10, 2025 | Spokane – Connect with colleagues, learn from experts, recognize industry excellence, and more.

Brand USA Travel Week: Oct. 20-23, 2025 l SWT attends this London-based show to conduct B2B meetings with international tour operators. Please share your destination updates with Lisa by Sept. 30.

National Tour Association (NTA): Nov. 9-12, 2025 l Ottawa, ON l B2B meetings with North American tour operators. SWT is not attending this year, but partners seeking group business are encouraged to register directly with NTA.

Wildlife Viewing and Nature Tourism Academy: Feb. 16-20, 2026 | Seattle, WA – Get hands-on practical training, exchange information, resources, and ideas with a network of wildlife viewing and nature tourism professionals.

Want to join SWT at some of these upcoming shows? Email Lisa Kruse for tips on how to get the most out of these shows to grow tourism for your region, city, or business!

Industry News Highlights

Are you a Destination Marketing Organization or other tourism industry stakeholder with noteworthy news to share? Send links to press releases and announcements to beth@stateofwatourism.com for possible inclusion in the newsletter.

State of Washington Tourism | stateofwatourism.com

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