Bellevue, Washington today launches its official Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) with funding from Meydenbauer Center supported by the city’s hotel/motel tax. Visit Bellevue Washington (www.visitbellevuewashington.com) was created to promote and increase leisure travel to Washington’s fifth largest city.
“We are pleased to showcase to the rest of the state and the entire country all that Bellevue now has to offer,” said Stacy Graven, executive director, Visit Bellevue Washington. “It is time for Bellevue to shine as not only a great place to live and conduct business, but also a fantastic place to visit.”
Visit Bellevue Washington is, in part, the result of a study by Bill Geist at Zeitgeist Consulting, which concluded that Bellevue was in a prime spot to attract leisure travelers. Bellevue boasts more than 4,400 hotel rooms of which 2,400 are concentrated on the downtown core. Bellevue offers travelers more than 200 retail shops, both mainstream and boutique brands exclusive to the Northwest, as well as hundreds of restaurants and other entertainment options, such as bowling, the arts and comedy clubs. Bellevue also makes a good springboard for travel to Woodinville’s wineries, the Kirkland waterfront, various outdoor recreation areas, as well as downtown Seattle.
The previous entity, East King County Convention and Visitors Bureau was disbanded in 2002. Meydenbauer Center assumed the convention sales program however it was determined that Bellevue did not have the infrastructure to support a leisure travel program at that time. Discussions resumed in late 2009, when the Bellevue Hotel Association approached Meydenbauer Center to revisit the issue of promoting leisure travel to Bellevue.
While Bellevue hotel occupancy is strong during midweek, weekend business remains a great opportunity. Zeitgeist Consulting studied the feasibility of marketing Bellevue as a leisure destination, which confirmed that Bellevue now has the infrastructure and offerings to be a compelling destination for leisure travelers.
About Visit Bellevue Washington
Safe, walkable and easily accessible, downtown Bellevue is a vibrant fusion of welcoming hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, lively culture, outdoor recreation world-class shopping and the Meydenbauer Convention Center. Surrounded by pristine natural beauty with big-city amenities, Bellevue offers a wide variety of entertainment experiences, and is home to innovative global corporations. www.visitbellevuewashington.com