Visit Tri Cities highlights $630M visitor impact, seeks use of $1.4M TPA reserves for research, marketing and events

Visit Tri Cities President and CEO Kevin Lewis presented the tourism organization's 2024 annual report and the 2025 work plan to the Pasco City Council on Monday, and requested the city consider recommended uses of roughly $1.4 million in tourism performance assessment (TPA) reserve funds.

The presentation said visitors generated about $630,000,000 in spending in the Tri Cities in 2024 and produced approximately $77,000,000 in tax revenues. Lewis said the office recorded total 2024 revenues near $3,500,000 and expenses near $2,900,000, leaving about $1,400,000 in TPA reserves. “Those extra monies go into reserve account and this is specific to the tourism performance assessment revenues,” Lewis said.

Lewis described a set of proposed reserve expenditures the hotel-motel commission reviewed and recommended to the council. He listed research and reporting services to improve data collection and analysis; a short-term rental research subscription (citing a vendor called AirDNA) to track listings and trends; subscriptions to AI marketing tools; an airport kiosk refresh; familiarization (FAM) tours for media; funding to recruit and host signature sports events such as Ironman; quick response funds to close group bookings; and project support services to staff expanded activity. Lewis said the TPA reserves are separate accounting tied specifically to the $3-per-room-per-night assessment on hotels with 40 or more rooms.

Council members pressed for details on timing, scope and remaining balances. Councilmember Milmey asked whether money for events would be spent on advertising or on hosting efforts; Lewis replied the funds for hosting would be used for event-related expenses such as off-site receptions and programming to showcase the region. Councilmember Brown asked how long the short-term rental data would take to produce; Lewis replied the AirDNA platform provides ongoing access and historical data back to 2014, not a one-time study: “Once we sign up for it, we'll have access to that.”

Lewis highlighted 2024 event impacts in Pasco including 62 tourism events held in the city, about 51,000 visitors and approximately $15,500,000 in visitor spending tied to events in Pasco. He noted Ironman 70.3 World Championship and the World Horseshoe Championships together generated about $10,000,000 in economic impact and drew participants from across the U.S. and abroad. Lewis said Pasco hotels saw a 48% increase in average daily rate and a 59% increase in hotel revenues on Ironman weekend compared with the same weekend the previous year.

Jerry Beach, identified by Lewis as chairman of the hotel-motel commission, and Lewis said the commission has reviewed and approved the reserve request and is recommending the projects to the cities for final consideration. Lewis said the tourism performance assessment is a regional tool created under state authorization and implemented through interlocal agreements with lodging providers in the Tri Cities; the current assessment in the Tri Cities is $3 per room per night.

Councilmembers praised Visit Tri Cities’ recent results and asked staff to return with the recommended reserve expenditures for formal consideration at a future meeting. Lewis said the tourism office will share short-term rental data and other research results with council when available. No formal council action was taken at the workshop; Lewis and staff said they expect the reserve request and related approvals to be on the upcoming regular meeting agenda for final action.

Why it matters: Visit Tri Cities’ work directly affects local hotels, restaurants, event venues and tourism-dependent payrolls — Lewis told the council about 5,900 local jobs tied to hospitality — and the proposed reserve expenditures would direct public tourism assessment funds to data, attraction and event investments intended to drive additional visitor spending and tax revenue.

What’s next: The hotel-motel commission’s recommendations will be included when the city agendas the reserve-fund requests for council consideration at a subsequent regular meeting. Lewis and staff said research outputs (including short-term rental data) will be provided to the city to inform any policy discussions.