Des Moines, 3 Other Cities Brought In $615 Million In Tourism Dollars In 2008

In a struggling economy, every piece of positive news counts, and here’s some that’s very relevant to the area:

Tourists spent $615 million last year in the cities of Des Moines, Tukwila, SeaTac and Kent, according to a tourism group that represents the four southwest King County cities.

There were 5,350 tourism-related jobs that generated $181 million in wages last year in the four cities, according to a report prepared by Dean Runyan Associates for the Seattle Southside organization.

There were 2.2 million visitors to the four cities last year that accounted for $51.6 million in tax revenues for the state, the report indicated.

“For every South King County household, tourism provides $400 in taxes that residents don’t have to pay, and over 5,000 jobs that wouldn’t otherwise exist,” said Katherine Kertzman, program director for Seattle Southside, in a statement.