Downtown Seattle worker foot traffic climbs, but it's still far below 2019 levels
The tourists and business travelers are back, but downtown Seattle still feels less vibrant than it did before the pandemic due to the relatively low level of office workers coming to the office.
In June, downtown and surrounding neighborhoods averaged over 90,000 daily workers — the highest since March 2020, according to information the Downtown Seattle Association released on Tuesday. While 14% higher than June 2023, it's still just 58% of the number recorded in June 2019.
The rise in hotel demand is palpable, with visitors rolling luggage in and out of hotels a common sight. Nearly 400,000 downtown hotel rooms were sold in June, the highest since March 2020. This equals 105% of June 2019's demand, according to the DSA report, which cites data from Visit Seattle and travel data company STR. The previous post-pandemic high was logged in September, when demand was 103% of 2019's level.
Nationally, Seattle's June hotel demand was the third highest the final week of June, trailing only New York City and Oahu.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2024/07/18/downtown-seattle-worker-foot-traffic-climbs-lags.html