Visit Bellevue, together with other community partners, will be launching a new Bellevue Happy Hour Passport. The digital, pre-purchased passport is designed to highlight and celebrate Bellevue’s diverse happy hour offerings.

We welcome all restaurants that offer a happy hour to participate in this exciting new program which is perfect for welcoming back visitors and downtown workers. For more information and to sign up contact ssteele@visitbellevuewa.com. This passport is the second in a series of new Bellevue Passport programs (Puget Sound Craft Beer Mobile Passport) launched this year.

Visit Bellevue will host the 2nd annual Visitor Research & Marketing Forum on Thursday, August 26th, 3 pm – 5 pm. The event is designed to inform our partners on the visitor, hospitality, and tourism data + research and how to best turn these insights into future marketing and destination development strategies. We will also be introducing several new destination marketing, sales, and development programs for Bellevue. 

Visit Bellevue holds monthly Partner Meetups which are designed to educate and inform our partners and stakeholders how to maximize their many complimentary Visit Bellevue benefits and leverage these for their own marketing, sales and visitor experience efforts. For more information and to sign up for a future session, contact Stephanie Steele at ssteele@visitbellevuewa.com.

Even though Washington State was the first to close and last to open, on Wednesday, June 30th we finally made it to our statewide reopening. This milestone, provides travel, tourism, and hospitality a much-needed boost with most all restrictions lifted. All industry sectors previously covered by the Roadmap to Recovery or the Safe Start plan may now return to pre-pandemic capacity and full operations, with a few exceptions that are outlined in the State’s reopening guidance.

With the passage of a new law allowing cruise ships to bypass Canada, our 2021 Alaska cruise season is officially gearing up for a late July – October season. Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas will be the first revenue sailing of the season when it departs on July 19.

Other cruise lines have finalized scheduled sailings later this summer including Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian, Carnival, Princess Cruises, and Holland America Line. Learn more about preparations underway to ensure a safe and successful cruise season by visiting the Port of Seattle’s website.

As part of their Reopening America Tour, Good Morning America recently paid a visit to Washington. To wrap up their visit on July 1st, they surprised Bellevue’s Bellden Café owner Claire Sumadiwirya, who as we all know makes a habit of going above and beyond to help the community, with a well-deserved trip to Belize! Watch Now! 

Looking for an opportunity to promote your business at the Pike Place Market Information Center?  Interested partners who wish to secure a brochure slot through the end of 2021 for an investment of $900 should contact Rob Leslie at Visit Seattle. Only a limited quantity remains!