Spokane popular with tourists
Travelers' desire to stay on the ground puts focus on regional vacation destinations

Becky Kramer
Staff writer

Click image to enlarge, or view Kootenai County hotel revenue. At a glance Interview with Carl Wilgus

To demonstrate the kind of positive tourism publicity Spokane received in 2002, John Brewer pulls out a copy of Seattle Homes and Lifestyles.

"The Inland Empire Strikes Back," reads the headline on a travel article. All the attributes that tourism folks like to talk up are highlighted: The reopening of the Davenport Hotel. Downtown restaurants and shopping. Spokane Falls. The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.

"It's old news to us, but it's new news to lots of people, particularly on the national level," said Brewer, president of the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau.

For years, Spokane has marketed itself as a safe, affordable city, playing up its role as the regional hub of the Inland Northwest. In 2002, it was the perfect sales pitch for tourists watching their dollars and still leery of airline travel.

Spokane County added 587 hotel rooms last year, bucking industry trends. Room demand climbed nearly 4 percent. The county's hotel-motel receipts and retail spending were also up.

"The marketing that we've done as a convention and visitor's bureau is really paying dividends now," Brewer said. "We felt the dip after 9/11 like everyone else, but we recovered faster."

At Hotel Lusso in downtown Spokane, weekend bookings are up 20 percent. The majority of reservations are from couples taking advantage of a package that includes dinner, movie tickets and a room.

"People aren't traveling as much. They are looking for things that are closer to home, a little getaway," said Doug Griepp, the hotel's general manager.

The Hotel Lusso also benefited from the Davenport Hotel's reopening in July.

"The synergy on the street just because of the Davenport has been great," Griepp said. "People come to see the Davenport, and we're giving a lot of tours too," which usually translates into future bookings.

Across the border in Idaho, however, Kootenai County didn't fare as well in 2002. For the first time in 15 years, the state of Idaho's lodging receipts declined. In Kootenai County, they were down by nearly $3 million, or 7 percent.

"The economic downturn and the impact of 9/11 were strongly felt," said Carl Wilgus, the state's tourism director in Boise.

"The pressure was hardest on the more urban areas and the convention and meeting markets, which is a lot of the Coeur d'Alene Resort's business."

Even Brewer considers the dynamics of last year a short-term advantage for the Spokane market. Still, a number of trends look positive for the future, he said.