Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism

Whatcom County Hotels Enjoy Visitor Boost From Vancouver Olympics

Monday, February 22nd, 2010 Loni Rahm, President & CEO – Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism Bellingham, Wash. – Many hotels around Whatcom County are reporting an increase in occupancy rates for the month of February and most attribute the boost to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Hotels easily accessible from Interstate-5 seem to be doing especially well, and many have been enjoying rates between 85%-100% since the games began. Other hotels report smaller increases in occupancy rates, in the 40-60% range, which is still higher for most lodging venues in a typical February.

Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism was asked by Western Washington University to help gather data for a Regional Economic Impact Survey between February 2nd –March 15, 2010. Local hotels, restaurants, retail stores and other partners are responsible for filling out the non-scientific survey. The data provided will be closely analyzed by the University.

While the data hasn’t been released or officially aggregated, Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism is hearing from many local businesses (restaurants, cafes, stores) that they’re getting additional media coverage (local, regional, national and international) and enjoying the local energy and excitement that Whatcom County’s proximity to the games is spurring. Some local hotels report that they’re getting substantial inquiries from Canadians wanting to escape the crowds and lines. Other hotels say Olympics’ ticket-holders are commuting from Whatcom County hotels because they are a less expensive and less busy compared to British Columbia.

The results from the Regional Economic Impact Survey will be aggregated to show the overall impact on the local economy, and BWCT and WWU expect to release the results in March.

Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism