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SeaTac nonprofit Culture Generation objects after SSRTA repackages its culinary-tour program
Summary
Christina Aroki Asami, founder of Culture Generation, told the council that the SSRTA repackaged her nonprofit’s culinary-tour program and that Culture Generation will not collaborate on the revised version.
Christina Aroki Asami, founder and cultural ambassador of the nonprofit Culture Generation, told the SeaTac City Council on April 8 that the Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority (SSRTA) repackaged a culinary-tour program her group has run for 20 years and that Culture Generation will not collaborate with the RTA on the revised program.
"We are not interested in this type of program and prefer not to be associated with the RTA, which promotes surface level marketing tours," Asami said during public comment, adding that Culture Generation "works directly with cities, City Of Kent, Renton, and the Port Of Seattle" and that its own tours in 2024 sold out.
The concern prompted a response from Councilmember Luis, who said he had reviewed prior committee and council records and recalled that budget allocations approved last fall and in the 2025–2026 SSRTA budget were intended to support Asami’s program. "When I made the recommendation for approval ... my understanding was that I was approving a budget allocation that would be for Christina's program," Luis said, citing a meeting he attended on Nov. 6 and committee discussion on Nov. 7, 2024, and noting a consent approval on Nov. 19, 2024.
Dr. Clark, a board member of Culture Generation, said the nonprofit’s model produces immersive culinary-cultural experiences and criticized the SSRTA’s version as a "generic commercial tour" that lacks cultural depth. "If I were a guest on a culinary tour, I would not just want to taste the food. I'd want to understand the cuisine, the culture, the stories behind the people," Clark said.
Council members and staff acknowledged the public comments and said staff are working to clarify the scope of the SSRTA contract and the intended use of the allocations cited in the committee and council records. Councilmember Luis asked staff to explore recording committee meetings so the council and the public have fuller, searchable records of committee discussions going forward.
Why it matters: The SSRTA budget items discussed at prior committee meetings included supplemental and multi-year allocations for cultural food-tour work. Local restaurants and immigrant-owned food businesses that Culture Generation represents said they rely on the nonprofit’s deeper, culturally grounded approach to access tourism marketing and visibility. Council direction to staff to clarify the record could affect how the SSRTA delivers culturally focused tourism programs and how the city documents committee-level decisions.
What’s next: Staff said they will follow up to clarify the scope of the SSRTA budget items and to consider Councilmember Luis’s request to explore recording committee meetings for greater transparency.
