INSIDE

• Visit Spokane won two Merit Awards at the Spokane MarCom Spark Awards: #Sasquantest social media

campaign and Women of the ELCA video• Marla Allen received the Thought Leader Award from Simpleview• Amy Cabe received the President’s Award from the Event Service Professionals Association • With community partners and volunteers, we oversaw and trekked hundreds of miles

at more than 20 regional locations for Google Trekker• We traveled the country on 94 sales and business trips totaling 240,612 miles• We dramatically increased lead production in 2015, with 269,707 lead room nights• We provided leadership and subject matter expertise in

numerous local, state, regional and national organizations, committees and project tasks forces, ranging from local issues such as the Riverfront Park Design Committee and board level leadership for national organizations such as the Event Service Professionals Association

BE BOLD...

•The Marketing Team gained national recognition for Spokane’s culinary scene through earned media, including The Wall St. Journal’s headline that Spokane

is among “6 Great Small Cities for Food Lovers, from San Antonio to Spokane”• Ace, our mobile visitor information center, hit the road to spread the word about the Spokane region and attended 38 events

• We spread that word far and wide about the expansion of the Spokane Convention Center, which opened in February 2015

• We attended four golf shows to promote leisure travel to the region• We used social media to engage convention attendees. Just one example: #Sasquantest for the World Science Fiction Convention• We assisted almost 9,000 visitors in 2015 at the River Park Square kiosk. Overall, visitors assisted in three locations totaled 56,579, almost 15,000 more than 2014

• We exhibited at 18 shows to promote Spokane as a convention destination, and participated in appointment-based shows to promote tour and travel to our region

• We hosted 80 site visits, an increase of 67% from 2014• We promoted individual member/ partners with marketing campaigns. Some examples: the opening of The Davenport Grand Hotel, the Washington State Chinese Lantern Festival and culinary accolades from the prestigious James Beard Foundation• We partnered with the Cork District and Spokane Arts to provide website, communications and social media support

• We booked 99 conventions - that’s 62,254 future room nights• After teaming with our partners

on five different bids, we eventually found success and booked the Fraternal Order of Eagles definite in 2020. Estimated economic impact: $13.6 million• Spokane welcomed Sasquan in August 2015 with over 11,000 registered and a peak of 5,825 attendees

at the Spokane Convention Center. Ours was the biggest Worldcon ever (total members), surpassing 2014’s Loncon• In addition to racking services, we distributed 40,576 Visitor Guides, which equals 812 boxes and approximately 12,180lbs• We contributed 320 volunteer hours through projects including planting trees, Centennial Trail clean-up of our adopted mile and preparing food deliveries for 2nd Harvest• We increased member/partner engagement by hosting “Stir it Up” events, attracting an estimated 300 people for networking and connecting the dots with partners and Visit Spokane• We achieved the lowest member/partner attrition rate since 2006, with only 9.5% attrition in 2015

• We convened committee meetings, input sessions, and met with member/partners and community partners to pursue joint marketing opportunities throughout the year

• Bring Worldcon to Spokane! It all began with a 2010 site visit • Visit Spokane attended the 2012 convention, appearing as perhaps

the only serious bidder• Worldcon members vote for their annual locations, so we got strategic at the 2013 convention, where numerous destination partners went to work with us• The Marketing Team developed a video featuring local, well- known science fiction authors promoting Spokane as the 2015 location• At this point, we were also up against Helsinki and Orlando

•The vote tally was in, and Spokane won! Our 21-vote victory margin was a landslide considering past cities had only won by six votes•Now, it was time to build attendance for 2015: additional tours and meetings with the planning committee took place. Visit Spokane’s housing service traveled to the 2014 WorldCon in London to promote the 2015 conference

•The local Worldcon organizing committee named the 2015 conference “Sasquan” •Sasquan welcomed 5,825 attendees from 56 countries•Estimated direct visitor spending was over $12 million and the estimated economic impact was over $19 million•Beyond the economic rewards, hosting a convention of this scale, with international attendees, was a huge community resume-builder and positions us well for future international conventions

SASQUAN

CREATE A BUZZ...

VisitSpokane.com | 888.SPOKANE

SERVING SPOKANE COUNTY & THE CITIES OF SPOKANE, SPOKANE VALLEY, LIBERTY LAKE, AIRWAY HEIGHTS & CHENEY

•Visitors Guide •

VISITORS PUBLICATION

FOR SPOKANE COUNTY

OFFICIAL The

2015

-2016 SpokaneRegional

Regional Visitors Guide 2015–2016

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VisitSpokane.com | 888.SPOKANE

FIND FUN FOR EVERY SEASON

365 (+1) DAYS OF ADVENTURE

DINE LIKE A CHEF+ Shopping • Family Fun •

Live Music • Golf • More

SERVING SPOKANE COUNTY & THE CITIES OF SPOKANE, SPOKANE VALLEY, LIBERTY LAKE, AIRWAY HEIGHTS & CHENEY

CONNECT THE DOTS.

2015 MILESTONES & HIGHLIGHTS

ANNUAL REPORT

2015

2015 BOARD OF DIRECTORSChairJody SanderSterling Hospitality

Vice ChairBryn WestRiver Park Square

TreasurerPaul ReadJournal of Business

SecretaryCheryl Y. KildayVisit Spokane

Joyce CameronProvidence Health CareFoundation

Chuck HafnerCity of Spokane Valley, City Council

Matt JensenDavenport Hotels

Brooke KienerSpokane Arts Fund

Greg LipskerBarrister Winery

Todd MielkeSpokane County

Stephen B. PohlNAI Black

Jan Quintrall

Greg RepettiValley Hospital

Rhosetta RhodesWhitworth University

Rita SantillanesPeppertree Inns

Karen StrattonCity of Spokane, City Council

Kevin TwohigSpokane Public Facilities District

Pam ScottRed Lion Hotels Corporation

2015 PROGRAM RESULTSEXPANDING POSSIBILITY

Visit Spokane’s Touch

$249,099,404

$546,679,929

$601,234,487

2013 2014 2015

2015 SPOKANE COUNTYVISITOR EXPENDITURES

Thank you to our funding partners: Spokane County, the cities of Spokane Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake and the Public Facilities District. We would especially like to thank our

Legacy Partner, Northern Quest Resort and Casino; our Diamond Partners, DoubleTree by Hilton Spokane City Center, Hotel RL Spokane at the Park, Spokane Airports, Washington Trust Bank; Platinum Partner,

Ruby Hospitality and Gold Partners, Best Western PLUS City Center, Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort, Columbia Bank, Holiday Inn Spokane Airport, Itron, Nordstrom, River Park Square,

The Spokesman-Review, U.S Bank of Spokane, WestCoast Entertainment.

Source: Dean Runyan Associates

Source: Visit Spokane

10,040Hospitality jobs

supported in Spokane County

3,451,4972015 Spokane County

visitors

$$433

Local tax relief for every household in

Spokane County

2014 20152013

50000

150000

250000

350000

Visitor E-news Impressions

Lead Room Nights

2015 VISIT SPOKANE PROGRAM BUDGET

$213,131,445Visit Spokane

Influenced

$322,702,626Visit Spokane

Directly Touched

$535,834,071Combined TotalVisitor Spending

As we review the achievements, shared successes and momentum that was built for continued tourism industry growth during 2015, we see the phrase “Expanding Possibility” as a good summation for the year.

2015 began strong with the opening of the Spokane Convention Center expan-sion. Private sector investment was remarkable, with projects like The Davenport Grand Hotel, more growth in Kendall Yards, new restaurants throughout the county and a growing reputation as a culinary destination. The attraction of new

events resulted in more visitation and increased visitor spending.

Yes, we are reporting Visit Spokane’s activities and accomplishments from the last year. And it is crucial to note that getting the job done takes teamwork with so many partners in the community. To increase economic development through tourism promotion, we actively promote our communities and our partners. We work with many moving parts as we market all the regional experiences that visitors can enjoy.

Internally, the Visit Spokane Team has adopted a mantra to BE BOLD, CREATE A BUZZ, CONNECT THE DOTS. This is how we’ve organized the talking points here in our Annual Report. The graphs illustrate the results, the pictures tell the stories and we included a case study that exemplifies what Visit Spokane does within our community with our partners.

Let’s continue working together by Expanding Possibility!

Jody Sander Board Chair

RevenueTotal

$4,660,838

Private$878,996

Lodging Tax$1,756,494

TPA$2,025,348

Lodging Tax 38%City of Spokane/PFD $1,516,494City of Spokane Valley $230,000City of Liberty Lake $10,000

TPA Tax 43%Spokane County $1,967,392City of Liberty Lake $57,956

ExpensesTotal

$4,413,248

Adm/IT$739,498

Convention Sales, Services & Marketing$1,961,323

Membership$404,328

Leisure Mkt/Consumer/

Visitor Services$1,308,100

Accommodations Food Service GroundTransportation

Arts, Entertainment& Recreation

Retail Sales AirTransportation

* (Million)

2013

2014

2015

200

400

600

800

1000

Cheryl Y. Kilday President & CEO

Visitor E-news Impressions