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Skagit Tourism Bureau reports strong 2025 gains; $12.1M attributed to campaigns amid broader $386M county tourism estimate
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Summary
Skagit Tourism Bureau told Anacortes council its 2025 marketing attribution showed $12.1 million linked to campaigns (110:1 reported return on ad spend) and highlighted a larger $386 million tourism sales estimate from the state'level economic study; the bureau also described new web and print assets and targeted campaigns including birding and a Canadian-market "Always Here" outreach.
Kristen Kelts, presenting for the Skagit Tourism Bureau, briefed the Anacortes City Council on 2025 marketing and visitor metrics, describing a mix of digital advertising, targeted data tools and grant-funded materials intended to expand visitation and track return on investment.
Kelts said the bureau's attribution program calculated roughly $12.1 million in visitor spending tied to the bureau's advertising activity, a figure distinct from the state'prepared tourism economic study that estimates about $386 million in total visitor-related sales across Skagit County. "The $12,100,000 number comes directly from our attribution from our marketing campaign," Kelts told the council, and she explained the larger $386 million figure is a countywide tourism economics estimate assembled from statewide sales-tax-based modeling.
The bureau reported nearly 18,500 overnight stays in 2025; a social media reach increase (about 11% on Facebook and 14.5% on Instagram); a redesign of the county visitor guide and a new county website that won a state award. Kelts highlighted a birding brochure produced with Port of Seattle grant funding and said the bureau is using DataFi geofencing plus Smith Travel Research and AirDNA to understand lodging and visitor patterns.
Council members asked for clarification about the difference between the attribution number and the statewide tourism sales estimate; Kelts said the attribution is directly tied to tracked ad campaigns and credit-card spend data, while the $386 million figure is a broader economic model. The bureau also noted upcoming promotion opportunities and a tourism summit aimed at sharing 2025 data and planning for 2026 programming.
The council thanked the bureau; no formal action was required at the presentation.
