Skagit Tourism Bureau reports growth, launches sports commission and new website

Kristen Keltz, chief executive officer of the Skagit Tourism Bureau, told the Sedro‑Woolley City Council during its April study session that the countywide bureau has completed a year of branding, launched a new website and set up a sports commission aimed at attracting tournaments and overnight stays.

Keltz said the bureau, funded mainly by a tourism promotion area fee collected at hotels, reported about 13,800,000 ad impressions, 450,000 emails sent, roughly 14,000 room nights generated and approximately $3,600,000 in conservatively tracked visitor spending from a recent attribution campaign. She said the bureau leveraged a $2.2 million cooperative campaign with the State of Washington Tourism and is increasing use of media-attribution vendors to target marketing dollars.

The presentation mattered, Keltz said, because overnight stays and tourism-generated tax revenue support local jobs and infrastructure. “We are here to…