By PATRICIA GRAF-HOKE
Visit Kitsap Peninsula

For the past several months, Kitsap County hoteliers have led Washington counties — including King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane — in posting record increases in lodging sales, occupancy and demand. It’s a trend that Visit Kitsap Peninsula expects to continue in 2016 and for the next several years as Kitsap’s tourism industry expands to support current and projected demand, as reflected in Smith Travel Reports.

Smith Travel Reports, which compiles data for the tourism and lodging industry, reported that hotel revenues for Kitsap County rose by 39 percent in May, 41.2 percent in October, and 53.9 percent in November over the same months in 2014. As of Nov. 30, lodging sales for Kitsap hoteliers is up 22.8 percent year-to-date, equal to $6.6 million in new revenue, while supply of new hotel rooms is up just 2 percent.

These impressive record-setting sales are a direct result of increase in sales to leisure travelers who are driving up demand and higher room rates. Leisure travelers include those visiting the area to enjoy the weekend or vacation, attend weddings or family celebrations, sports or recreation events and international visitors from around the USA and the world. Leisure travelers also include workers involved in the private sector, commercial/retail/healthcare construction, professional contractors and staff, and those attending non-government-related conferences and meetings.

Government travelers are still an important sales channel for Kitsap’s hoteliers in the Bremerton and Silverdale area; however, the influx of leisure travelers now allows them to cap the number of rooms sold at the lower per-diem rate. For some hotels, including Clearwater Casino Resort, Bainbridge Island Best Western, and Poulsbo Inn, the focus is 100 percent on leisure travelers.

The demand for rooms is setting sales records and spurred the recent completion of 99 new hotel rooms and a conference center by Port Madison Enterprises, the start of construction of a 94-room hotel by The Point Casino, and the proposal of a 94-room Best Western Hotel in Poulsbo. Developers are also reviewing options for boutique-style hotel properties in the Bremerton area — all are targeting leisure travelers and events.

Thanks to an aggressive, consistent six-year branding strategy and marketing campaign, the Kitsap Peninsula region has finally become recognized as popular destination for leisure travel and events. In 2014, the Puget Sound Regional Council, which lists tourism as one of its top eight economic sectors, reported that Kitsap’s tourism industry generated more than $500 million in tourism-related revenues and 6,700 jobs, numbers that have been surpassed in during this past year.

Kitsap’s success can be attributed to the region’s abundance of outdoor recreation activities. Family- and pet-friendly access to natural environment, public beaches and parks has made Kitsap a magnet for residents living in crowded and traffic-intense Puget Sound urban neighborhoods. The U.S. Department of Interior’s designation in 2014 of the Kitsap Peninsula National Water Trails has further enhanced Kitsap’s image as “the Natural Side of Puget Sound” and outdoor recreation destination.

Kitsap’s unique and close proximately to Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma and Sea-Tac International Airport promise to keep Kitsap’s tourism industry moving full-speed ahead in the immediate future and likely for years to come.

— Patricia Graf-Hoke is director of Visit Kitsap Peninsula, the official, state recognized destination-marketing organization responsible for promoting the Kitsap Peninsula.  Contact her at grafhoke@visitkitsap.com