Rose Noble - Visit Spokane
Feb 17, 2026
Business / Advocacy
[PDF page 1 of 5]
Plan Spokane Team,
Attached is our feedback for consideration as Plan Spokane 2046 advances. At its core, we want you to be thinking about tourism as a main economic driver and essential to residents’ quality of place.
Thank you,
Rose Noble, CDME | President & CEO
[PDF page 2 of 5]
Dear PlanSpokane Team,
On behalf of Visit Spokane, thank you for the thoughtful and comprehensive Community Visioning Engagement Summary and for the extensive outreach conducted across neighborhoods and districts. The themes reflected throughout the document (vibrancy, walkability, arts and culture, local businesses, access to nature, and inclusive community spaces) strongly align with what makes Spokane not only a great place to live, but a competitive and resilient destination. As the official destination marketing and management organization (DMO) for Spokane, we offer the following feedback and recommendations for consideration as PlanSpokane 2046 advances.
1. Tourism Is a Core Economic Driver - Especially When It Is Year-Round
Tourism is a foundational economic sector for Spokane and should be explicitly considered in comprehensive planning decisions related to land use, transportation, infrastructure, arts and culture, and neighborhoods. Equally important, the long-term health of this sector depends on Spokane’s ability to support year-round visitation, not just peak-season demand. According to Tourism Economics’ 2024 Economic Impact of Tourism analysis:
- Spokane County welcomed 10.1 million visitors in 2024
- Visitors generated $1.53 billion in direct visitor spending, producing a total economic impact of $2.4 billion
- Tourism supported approximately 18,000 jobs, representing 1 in every 19 jobs in Spokane County
- Visitor activity generated $233 million in state and local tax revenues, providing an estimated $1,080 in household tax relief per household
Year-round tourism strengthens these outcomes by:
- Supporting stable, full-time employment, rather than seasonal or cyclical work
- Sustaining small businesses and neighborhood-serving commercial districts throughout the calendar year
- Maximizing the return on public investments in infrastructure, facilities, parks, and cultural venues
- Reducing pressure on peak-season systems while improving utilization in shoulder and winter months
As PlanSpokane 2046 evaluates growth alternatives and long-term infrastructure needs, planning for consistent, year-round economic activity rather than seasonal spikes, should be an objective.
2. Visit Spokane Should Have a Seat at the Table in Long-Range Planning
Given tourism’s scale, impact, and growing emphasis on year-round visitation, Visit Spokane should be an ongoing stakeholder in the PlanSpokane 2046 process, not solely as a marketing entity, but as a partner in shaping the city Spokane is becoming. This includes collaboration on:
- Land-use and zoning decisions that support mixed-use districts, hotels and cultural facilities
- Transportation and mobility planning that ensures safe, accessible, all-season movement for residents and visitors alike
- Public-realm investments that encourage winter activation, shoulder-season programming, and everyday use
- Economic development strategies tied to arts, culture, events, and experience development
[PDF page 3 of 5]
Visitors and residents rely on the same systems. When those systems are designed to function well in all seasons, they improve quality of life for residents while strengthening Spokane’s economic resilience.
3. Creative Placemaking Is Spokane’s Competitive Advantage and a Year-Round Strategy
Across workshops and surveys, community members consistently identified arts, culture, public spaces, walkable neighborhoods, local businesses, and “third places” as central to Spokane’s future. These priorities align directly with Visit Spokane’s focus on creative placemaking and experience development. Creative placemaking is especially critical to year-round tourism, because it:
- Activates neighborhoods beyond summer months
- Encourages indoor and outdoor cultural programming in all seasons
- Supports local businesses during shoulder and winter periods
- Creates reasons to gather, linger, and return throughout the year Visitor spending in 2024 strongly reflects the value of place-based experiences:
- FOOD & BEVERAGE
$429 million
- LODGING
$376 million
- RETAIL
$328 million
- RECREATION & ENTERTAINMENT
$133 million
These sectors thrive in environments that are human-scaled, culturally rich, and intentionally activated year-round. Investments in public art, cultural districts, events, and neighborhood gathering spaces are are economic infrastructure.
4. Experience Development Must Keep Pace with Population Growth
As Spokane plans for continued population growth through 2046, it is essential that experience development keeps pace with housing, employment, and infrastructure growth, and that it does so with a year-round lens. This includes:
- Arts and cultural facilities designed for four-season use
- Neighborhood centers that function as daily gathering places, not just event destinations
- Public spaces that are safe, welcoming, and usable year-round
- Events and programming that animate the city beyond peak summer months
Planning for growth without proportional investment in experiences risks weakening both resident satisfaction and economic returns.
Visit Spokane appreciates the City’s commitment to an inclusive and forward-looking comprehensive plan. We encourage the City to formally recognize tourism as a year-round economic system within PlanSpokane 2046 and to engage Visit Spokane as a partner in shaping policies and investments that support livability, resilience, and sustainable growth. We look forward to continued collaboration and are eager to support this work with data, insights, and community partnerships.
Sincerely,
Visit Spokane
[PDF page 4 of 5]
APPENDIX A
Visit Spokane - Recommended Actions for PlanSpokane 2046
Supporting Year-Round Economic Vitality, Creative Placemaking, and Experience Development
Tourism is a year-round economic system that contributes significantly to Spokane’s employment base, tax revenues, small business vitality, and quality of life. As Spokane plans for continued population growth and long-term infrastructure investment through 2046, integrating tourism considerations, particularly those that support four-season use of the city, will strengthen economic resilience and maximize public return on investment. The following recommended actions are intended to be incorporated into PlanSpokane 2046 goals, policies, implementation strategies, and evaluation criteria.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
1. Recognize Tourism as a Year-Round Economic System
- Formally acknowledge tourism within the Comprehensive Plan as a year-round contributor to Spokane’s economy, workforce stability, and fiscal health.
- Align tourism considerations with housing, employment, and population growth assumptions used in long-range planning.
2. Establish Ongoing DMO Participation in Plan Implementation
- Include Visit Spokane as an ongoing stakeholder in PlanSpokane 2046 implementation, particularly in areas related to:
- Land use and zoning
- Transportation and walkability
- Arts, culture, and public-realm investment
- Economic development and neighborhood activations
3. Integrate Year-Round Experience Development into Land-Use Policy
- Incorporate policies that support mixed-use districts
- Encourage adaptive reuse, ground-floor activation, and flexible space design that supports daily use, events, and seasonal programming.
[PDF page 5 of 5]
4. Prioritize Creative Placemaking as Economic Infrastructure
- Treat creative placemaking, including public art, cultural districts, events, and neighborhood gathering spaces, as core economic infrastructure, not discretionary amenities.
- Embed placemaking strategies within economic development, land-use, and capital investment policies.
5. Design and Fund Public Spaces for Four-Season Use
- Establish planning and design standards that support year-round usability of parks, plazas, streetscapes, and civic spaces.
- Prioritize investments that enable winter activation, shoulder-season programming, and everyday community use.
6. Align Transportation and Mobility Planning with Year-Round Use
- Ensure transportation policies support safe, accessible, all-season mobility for residents and visitors.
- Emphasize walkability, accessibility, and lighting
7. Support Small Businesses and Local-Serving Commercial Activity
- Use zoning, code flexibility, and adaptive reuse strategies to support small businesses, local retail, food and beverage, and cultural enterprises that benefit from consistent year-round activity.
9. Incorporate Tourism and Visitor Data into Plan Monitoring
- Utilize tourism and visitor economy data as part of PlanSpokane 2046 monitoring and performance evaluation.
- Track outcomes related to livability, economic vitality, public-realm use, and year-round activation.
Integrating these actions into PlanSpokane 2046 will help ensure that Spokane’s growth supports a resilient, inclusive, and vibrant community. One that functions well for residents every day of the year while sustaining a strong and diversified economy. Visit Spokane looks forward to continued collaboration and stands ready to support implementation with data, partnerships, and expertise.
Rose Noble - Visit Spokane
Feb 17, 2026
Business / Advocacy
[PDF page 1 of 5]
Plan Spokane Team,
Attached is our feedback for consideration as Plan Spokane 2046 advances. At its core, we want you to be thinking about tourism as a main economic driver and essential to residents’ quality of place.
Thank you,
Rose Noble, CDME | President & CEO
[PDF page 2 of 5]
Dear PlanSpokane Team,
On behalf of Visit Spokane, thank you for the thoughtful and comprehensive Community Visioning Engagement Summary and for the extensive outreach conducted across neighborhoods and districts. The themes reflected throughout the document (vibrancy, walkability, arts and culture, local businesses, access to nature, and inclusive community spaces) strongly align with what makes Spokane not only a great place to live, but a competitive and resilient destination. As the official destination marketing and management organization (DMO) for Spokane, we offer the following feedback and recommendations for consideration as PlanSpokane 2046 advances.
1. Tourism Is a Core Economic Driver - Especially When It Is Year-Round
Tourism is a foundational economic sector for Spokane and should be explicitly considered in comprehensive planning decisions related to land use, transportation, infrastructure, arts and culture, and neighborhoods. Equally important, the long-term health of this sector depends on Spokane’s ability to support year-round visitation, not just peak-season demand. According to Tourism Economics’ 2024 Economic Impact of Tourism analysis:
- Spokane County welcomed 10.1 million visitors in 2024
- Visitors generated $1.53 billion in direct visitor spending, producing a total economic impact of $2.4 billion
- Tourism supported approximately 18,000 jobs, representing 1 in every 19 jobs in Spokane County
- Visitor activity generated $233 million in state and local tax revenues, providing an estimated $1,080 in household tax relief per household
Year-round tourism strengthens these outcomes by:
- Supporting stable, full-time employment, rather than seasonal or cyclical work
- Sustaining small businesses and neighborhood-serving commercial districts throughout the calendar year
- Maximizing the return on public investments in infrastructure, facilities, parks, and cultural venues
- Reducing pressure on peak-season systems while improving utilization in shoulder and winter months
As PlanSpokane 2046 evaluates growth alternatives and long-term infrastructure needs, planning for consistent, year-round economic activity rather than seasonal spikes, should be an objective.
2. Visit Spokane Should Have a Seat at the Table in Long-Range Planning
Given tourism’s scale, impact, and growing emphasis on year-round visitation, Visit Spokane should be an ongoing stakeholder in the PlanSpokane 2046 process, not solely as a marketing entity, but as a partner in shaping the city Spokane is becoming. This includes collaboration on:
- Land-use and zoning decisions that support mixed-use districts, hotels and cultural facilities
- Transportation and mobility planning that ensures safe, accessible, all-season movement for residents and visitors alike
- Public-realm investments that encourage winter activation, shoulder-season programming, and everyday use
- Economic development strategies tied to arts, culture, events, and experience development
[PDF page 3 of 5]
Visitors and residents rely on the same systems. When those systems are designed to function well in all seasons, they improve quality of life for residents while strengthening Spokane’s economic resilience.
3. Creative Placemaking Is Spokane’s Competitive Advantage and a Year-Round Strategy
Across workshops and surveys, community members consistently identified arts, culture, public spaces, walkable neighborhoods, local businesses, and “third places” as central to Spokane’s future. These priorities align directly with Visit Spokane’s focus on creative placemaking and experience development. Creative placemaking is especially critical to year-round tourism, because it:
- Activates neighborhoods beyond summer months
- Encourages indoor and outdoor cultural programming in all seasons
- Supports local businesses during shoulder and winter periods
- Creates reasons to gather, linger, and return throughout the year Visitor spending in 2024 strongly reflects the value of place-based experiences:
- FOOD & BEVERAGE
$429 million
- LODGING
$376 million
- RETAIL
$328 million
- RECREATION & ENTERTAINMENT
$133 million
These sectors thrive in environments that are human-scaled, culturally rich, and intentionally activated year-round. Investments in public art, cultural districts, events, and neighborhood gathering spaces are are economic infrastructure.
4. Experience Development Must Keep Pace with Population Growth
As Spokane plans for continued population growth through 2046, it is essential that experience development keeps pace with housing, employment, and infrastructure growth, and that it does so with a year-round lens. This includes:
- Arts and cultural facilities designed for four-season use
- Neighborhood centers that function as daily gathering places, not just event destinations
- Public spaces that are safe, welcoming, and usable year-round
- Events and programming that animate the city beyond peak summer months
Planning for growth without proportional investment in experiences risks weakening both resident satisfaction and economic returns.
Visit Spokane appreciates the City’s commitment to an inclusive and forward-looking comprehensive plan. We encourage the City to formally recognize tourism as a year-round economic system within PlanSpokane 2046 and to engage Visit Spokane as a partner in shaping policies and investments that support livability, resilience, and sustainable growth. We look forward to continued collaboration and are eager to support this work with data, insights, and community partnerships.
Sincerely,
Visit Spokane
[PDF page 4 of 5]
APPENDIX A
Visit Spokane - Recommended Actions for PlanSpokane 2046
Supporting Year-Round Economic Vitality, Creative Placemaking, and Experience Development
Tourism is a year-round economic system that contributes significantly to Spokane’s employment base, tax revenues, small business vitality, and quality of life. As Spokane plans for continued population growth and long-term infrastructure investment through 2046, integrating tourism considerations, particularly those that support four-season use of the city, will strengthen economic resilience and maximize public return on investment. The following recommended actions are intended to be incorporated into PlanSpokane 2046 goals, policies, implementation strategies, and evaluation criteria.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
1. Recognize Tourism as a Year-Round Economic System
- Formally acknowledge tourism within the Comprehensive Plan as a year-round contributor to Spokane’s economy, workforce stability, and fiscal health.
- Align tourism considerations with housing, employment, and population growth assumptions used in long-range planning.
2. Establish Ongoing DMO Participation in Plan Implementation
- Include Visit Spokane as an ongoing stakeholder in PlanSpokane 2046 implementation, particularly in areas related to:
- Land use and zoning
- Transportation and walkability
- Arts, culture, and public-realm investment
- Economic development and neighborhood activations
3. Integrate Year-Round Experience Development into Land-Use Policy
- Incorporate policies that support mixed-use districts
- Encourage adaptive reuse, ground-floor activation, and flexible space design that supports daily use, events, and seasonal programming.
[PDF page 5 of 5]
4. Prioritize Creative Placemaking as Economic Infrastructure
- Treat creative placemaking, including public art, cultural districts, events, and neighborhood gathering spaces, as core economic infrastructure, not discretionary amenities.
- Embed placemaking strategies within economic development, land-use, and capital investment policies.
5. Design and Fund Public Spaces for Four-Season Use
- Establish planning and design standards that support year-round usability of parks, plazas, streetscapes, and civic spaces.
- Prioritize investments that enable winter activation, shoulder-season programming, and everyday community use.
6. Align Transportation and Mobility Planning with Year-Round Use
- Ensure transportation policies support safe, accessible, all-season mobility for residents and visitors.
- Emphasize walkability, accessibility, and lighting
7. Support Small Businesses and Local-Serving Commercial Activity
- Use zoning, code flexibility, and adaptive reuse strategies to support small businesses, local retail, food and beverage, and cultural enterprises that benefit from consistent year-round activity.
9. Incorporate Tourism and Visitor Data into Plan Monitoring
- Utilize tourism and visitor economy data as part of PlanSpokane 2046 monitoring and performance evaluation.
- Track outcomes related to livability, economic vitality, public-realm use, and year-round activation.
Integrating these actions into PlanSpokane 2046 will help ensure that Spokane’s growth supports a resilient, inclusive, and vibrant community. One that functions well for residents every day of the year while sustaining a strong and diversified economy. Visit Spokane looks forward to continued collaboration and stands ready to support implementation with data, partnerships, and expertise.