Gateway to the Pacific

Located in the North-West of the USA, one of Seattle’s key assets for international attendees and events is, arguably, accessibility via direct flights, particularly from Asia. SEA Airport is a West Coast hub for Delta, and the home of Alaska Airlines. With both airlines investing in SEA, it’s only getting easier to visit.

“The airlift is outstanding,” says the CVB. “We have the fastest route time from Tokyo of any city on the West Coast. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines, Seattle’s hometown airline, just this year announced direct flights to Japan, Korea, London, Reykjavik and Rome.”

SEA also recently unveiled its new international arrivals facility, which increases the airport’s international gates from 12 to 20, and more than doubles passenger capacity. Additional lounges are planned and concourses expanded.

Seattle has really transformed in recent years, in large part due to the completion of several billion-dollar investments in the city. The latest project to debut is the reimagined waterfront, which now connects the iconic Pike Place Market and historic Pioneer Square neighbourhood with a 20-acre park stretching across the waterfront. The park’s Overlook Walk offers a never-before-seen vantage point of the skyline, Mount Rainier, the Olympics, and Puget Sound. It’s a huge draw for locals and visitors alike.

The sound of innovation and connectivity vibrates through Seattle’s spaces and venues

Seattle’s Summit success

For meetings, the biggest addition has been the opening of the Summit building at Seattle Convention Center. Opened in 2023, Summit is located a block-and-a-half from the existing Arch building, creating a condensed downtown convention centre campus that gives meeting planners flexibility across both buildings.

Last year, Summit earned LEED Platinum certification, joining Arch which is LEED Silver certified.

And while there is no official subvention programme on offer from the CVB, some incentives are available on a case-by-case basis, depending on group needs and time of year.

Seattle’s Link light rail brings visitors from SEA Airport directly downtown, and light rail is expanding with the next iteration connecting the Eastside cities of Bellevue and Redmond with downtown. There are also continued upgrades to bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalk improvements, designed to create an appealing urban core.

Seattle remains a city of innovation, with major tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta, and there is also innovation in health, with world-class researchers and higher education institutions.

Main conference venues

• Seattle Convention Center (two-building campus)

• Climate Pledge Arena

• Bell Harbor Conference Center

• Hyatt Regency Seattle

• Sheraton Grand Seattle

New and/or notable off-site venues

• Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion

• Chihuly Garden & Glass

• The Glasshouse at the Kimpton Palladian

• Populous Seattle

• 1 Hotel Seattle

Sustainability and scenery

Sustainability is at the core of Seattle’s identity. From Mount Rainier to Puget Sound, it is a city rooted in nature, with 200 miles of shoreline and more than 6,000 acres of parks.

The newly renovated Climate Pledge Arena, home to the Seattle Storm and Kraken, is the first zero-carbon certified arena in the world, per the International Living Future Institute.

At Seattle Convention Center, staff diverted more than 721 tons of waste in 2024, with a waste conversion rate of 77%. Seattle required all residential properties to compost food waste in 2009.

And an order goes into effect in the 2027 season from the Port of Seattle requiring all cruise ships that call Seattle home to use shore power, reducing diesel emissions by an average of 80%.