SEATTLE — Seattle tourism officials say the number of Emerald City visitors is slowly on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like many cities across the country, Seattle’s Pioneer Square took a massive financial hit. Now, officials say for the first time in five years, it feels like recovery is possible.
Angela Nguyen with the Alliance for Pioneer Square said neighborhoods like Pioneer Square and Belltown are seeing the biggest jumps.
You may even notice a recent hustle and bustle in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. The 173-year-old neighborhood is experiencing a new wave of visitors.
“With cruise ships coming in, with a lot of events in the neighborhood, we are right in the center of where the action is,” Nguyen said.
With at least 24 new businesses open in the past year, the district is packed with places to shop and eat.
Manndi Avett, Friend Museum Co-Owner, said she opened her vintage clothing/wine/coffee bar last fall.
“When we moved in, it was bare. Just us and Cowgirls, the hotel wasn’t open, no cafes, just watching it fill in is an incredible feeling,” Avett said.
The formerly empty intersections near Yesler Way are now bustling, five years after the beginning of the pandemic.
“We are no strangers to challenges, but that also means we are resilient, we are seeing that recovery since,” Nguyen said.
Visit Seattle said 40 million people came to check out the Emerald City in 2024, up more than 5% from the year before.
Business owners tell us the First Thursday Art Walk brings in roughly 20,000 people.
Brooke St. Sauver owns The Dandy wine bar. She said that it is her favorite night of the month.
“It’s hands down our busiest night of the month, we do about 3.5-4 times the business on art walk night that we do on the other nights,” St. Sauver said.
Her business is also new to the Pioneer Square neighborhood. She said she and her husband live nearby and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
St. Sauver said being a wine bar in a sea of breweries and sports bars near Lumen Field is a fun way to bring an entirely new crowd and experience to Pioneer Square.
The Alliance tells us their goal is to bring fun and vibrancy to Pioneer Square for everyone to enjoy
“We are really excited about that continual growth and seeing everyone come to the neighborhood,” Nguyen said.
For a full rundown of upcoming Pioneer Square events, you can check out https://pioneersquare.org/.
©2025 Cox Media Group
