KENNEWICK, Wash. – Visit Tri-Cities hosted its 56th Annual Meeting & Tourism Showcase, highlighting the vital role of tourism in the community and how tourism fuels growth across the region.
The Three Rivers Convention Center was bustling with local business owners displaying major attractions from the Tri-Cities area. Kevin Lewis, CEO and President of Visit Tri-Cities, explained how tourism shows off our region.
“The things that we do, the interactions that we have, and the connections we make with people have a deep, deep influence in the success and the vitality of our community,” Lewis said. “People don’t travel just to get away, they travel to discover themselves and to learn new things.”
Lewis highlighted that tourism has created nearly 5,900 jobs in the community.
“A lot of the businesses that are supported immediately are the hotels, the restaurants and the recreational. But all of that trickles out through the rest of the community too, because those employees who work there they’re getting paid to do that. They spend money in other places too,” Lewis said. “And so it really does impact the entire community. And then the taxes that they pay help offset some of the taxes that we’d have to pay if they weren’t coming.”
During the presentation, Lewis shared that in 2024, the Tri-Cities hosted 3,940,000 overnight visitors who spent about $643.4 million. Over the last three years, tourism has generated $1.73 billion in economic impact in the Tri-Cities.
One of the most significant additions to the area is the “Iron Man 70.3” event.
“Ironman and other events bring people into the community where they get to feel the vibe. They feel the hospitality. They feel the warmth. They feel the friendliness of our community and what that does to them,” Lewis said. “It changes their perception of what the Tri-Cities is about, and they start thinking differently about it.”
Ironman 70.3 attracted 2,000 athletes and 10,000 visitors, resulting in over $7 million in economic impact.
“There are just opportunities from events like that to capitalize on the enthusiasm that it generates to get our community energized,” said Lewis. “It shows who we really are as people, and it just helps us to be more successful.”
The event has completed its second year of a three-year contract.
“We’re already having conversations with Ironman. In fact, they were the ones that reached out to us to start those conversations for continuing the race further,” Lewis said. “So I’m really confident that we’re going to continue the race.”
