Three-fourths of Snohomish County’s hotel and motel rooms stayed full during July, boosted in part by players and fans who stayed for a large softball tournament.
The National Softball Association’s Western World Series drew an estimated 5,000 people, with the majority coming from out of the state. Many inns between Arlington and north King County reported full occupancy during that week in July.
Smith Travel Research’s occupancy report for July, released Tuesday, showed an occupancy rate of 76 percent among local hotels and motels. That compares with 67 percent during June and 69 percent for the same month of 2003.
The average nightly rate charged for a room was $68.49, more than 50 cents higher than at this time last year, according to Smith Travel.
Sandy Ward, executive director of the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau, called July’s occupancy rate “excellent.”
“We’re hearing people have had a pretty good August as well,” she said.
Follwing the upcoming Labor Day weekend, the tourism bureau will start programs to entice more off-season visitors to Snohomish County, Ward said. Those include incentives for Canadian travelers and specials that encourage relatives and friends of county residents to stay in local inns.
For the entire year to date, the occupancy rate for the county’s hotels and motels is running at 56 percent, up from 53 percent last year, Smith Travel reported.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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