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Council approves BRTPA advisory board’s 2026 strategic plan and budget for Bellevue zone
Summary
Bellevue’s council voted to direct staff to return legislation incorporating the Bellevue‑Redmond Tourism Promotion Area advisory board’s recommended 2026 budgets and strategic plans for the two TPA zones.
The Bellevue City Council on July 22 voted to direct staff to prepare legislation so the city can implement the Bellevue‑Redmond Tourism Promotion Area (BRTPA) advisory board’s recommended 2026 budgets and strategic plans.
City staff and the BRTPA chair, Carolyn Durmakarian, presented the proposed 2026 strategic priorities and the expected revenue and reserve positions for both the Bellevue and Redmond zones. The TPA is funded by a $2.50 per‑night lodging fee collected by lodging businesses and remitted to the Washington Department of Revenue for allocation to the cities. The BRTPA advisory board, composed of hospitality stakeholders from both zones, recommended programmatic spending to support destination marketing, culinary and walking tours, hotel amenity programs (Bellhop and BikeHop), sustainability planning and targeted sales efforts.
Staff said Bellevue welcomed more than 2.2 million overnight visitors in 2024 and projects a goal of 2.5 million visitors in 2026, producing an estimated $2.1 billion in local economic impact. Visit Bellevue’s 2026 plan calls for expanding culinary tours, walking and self‑guided experiences, and a sustainability plan for destination stewardship. Redmond’s program aims to increase overnight visitors by 5% and to expand capacity building and niche marketing.
Council members asked about the size and purpose of reserves and contingencies, festival and event selection criteria, and how the TPA will support FIFA 2026 and other large events. Staff said Visit Bellevue and 1Redmond manage festival applications and have selection committees; the city holds zone reserves in separate accounts and maintains a contingency (~10%) within contracted scopes of work for the zone administrators.
Council action: a motion to direct staff to return with mid‑biennial technical adjustment legislation to support expenditures consistent with the BRTPA advisory board’s recommended 2026 budget passed by voice vote.
Visit Bellevue intends to maintain roughly $256,000 in reserves and Redmond about $480,000 after 2026 projections. Staff said the final scopes of work and contracts with Visit Bellevue and 1Redmond will come to council during the contracting process later this year.
