Yakima Valley tourism turned a corner in 2011, statistics show

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima Valley Visitors and Convention Bureau saw success in 2011 despite economic challenges for business and leisure travelers.

The Yakima Convention Center, which is operated by the bureau, generated a record $1.64 million in revenue, an increase of 17 percent from 2010, according to data the bureau released last week. Event days also increased by 14 percent year-over-year to 554 days.

Bureau president and CEO John Cooper credited strong promotions and persistence from bureau staff for its success.

"We were pounding the streets and hitting the phones," he said. "I think the Yakima Valley is getting greater exposure as a destination for all our contingents, whether it's sports, conventions or leisure travel."

The Yakima Valley received 106 media placements and articles in 2011, while the visityakimavalley.org website saw a 28 percent increase in unique visitors.

Cooper said that while the economy will continue to be a challenge in 2012, there are indications that things are improving.

In 2011, the bureau saw a 2 percent year-over-year increase in future convention and group bookings. The Yakima Valley Sports Commission, a division of the visitors bureau that promotes the area through sports tourism, reported a 13 percent increase in future sporting events for the Yakima Valley.

"I believe we turned a corner and we bottomed out," he said.

The visitors bureau is organizing a free webinar Friday to further discuss how the local, national and international tourism industry fared in 2011, as well as provide a tourism outlook for 2012. The webinar is open to the public. To register, go to http://budurl.com/VCBwebinar.

* Mai Hoang can be reached at 509-577-7685 or maihoang@yakimaherald.com.