These travel destinations are trending among Seattle-area tourists
With the summer travel season just around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to look at what data shows about Seattle vacationers. And according to the latest market research, we're traveling a lot - and spending a lot doing it.
According to newly released data from Nielsen, a projected 3.7 million adults in the Seattle market area - nearly 83 percent of the region's 4.5 million adult population - took at least one overnight trip in the past 12 months.
It seems safe to say that travel has fully recovered from the pandemic. Last year's numbers were higher than in 2019, when about 80% had taken at least one overnight trip.
The 2020-to-2021 period was the lowest point for travel, when 69% of adults in our market had traveled. But the last three Nielsen data releases have shown travel has recovered among Seattle-area residents, with more than 80% of adults having taken at least one overnight trip in the past 12 months.
Of course, no one could have predicted gas prices as high as they are right now, and that could affect some vacation plans this summer.
Most of our trips are within the U.S. Overall, 79% of Seattle-area adults had at least one overnight stay at a U.S. location, compared with 38% who stayed at a destination outside the U.S. And, with Canada just a few hours away by car, that helped prop up the figure for travel outside the U.S.
Nearby vacations tend to cost less, of course, especially if you don't have to fly. Most of our vacations were driving distance, but even so, we still spent a lot. According to Nielsen, Seattle ranked No. 3 among 83 market areas for average vacation spending over the past 12 months, at $4,600. Honolulu was No. 1 at $6,400, and surely airfare is a major factor in that amount. But if you live in Hawaiʻi, do you really need to go on vacation? San Francisco was second at $4,900.
The Washington coast ranked as our top overnight destination in 2025, drawing 908,000 Seattle-area adults, which represents about 20% of the adult population. Portland was No. 2, attracting 859,000 visitors. Canada and Leavenworth were nearly tied for third place, each with 786,000 travelers. Las Vegas came in fifth with 720,000 visitors.
Among the destination choices in the Nielsen survey, the location with the fewest overnight visitors was also nearby: Winthrop/Methow Valley, with around 114,000 visitors. Whistler, B.C., and the Caribbean were next, effectively tied at around 154,000 visitors. The United Kingdom/Ireland was fourth lowest, at 159,000, and Chicago rounded out the bottom five at 164,000.
Nielsen surveyed nearly 4,000 adults in the Seattle market area from September 2024 to July 2025. The Seattle market area covers most of the Puget Sound region.
While the Washington coast was the top destination last year, it also saw the biggest decline in 2024, down about 109,000 visitors. The other biggest declines were San Diego, which was down 63,000 visitors, and Hawaiʻi, down 56,000. It's interesting that the three locations with the biggest declines are all beachy destinations.
Las Vegas was the top growing destination, with an increase of 72,000, followed by Spokane, up 35,000, and Victoria, B.C., up 23,000. I was surprised to see Las Vegas top the list, as it's been reported that Sin City tourism has been in a slump - but that is largely due to a drop in international visitors, particularly from Canada.
The data shows no drop-off in vacation planning locally. According to the survey, about 3.9 million adults in the Seattle area had planned a vacation in the upcoming 12 months. The No. 1 type of vacation planned was a getaway weekend trip, at around 46% of local adults.
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