What’s extraordinary about this job:

Visit Seattle is seeking a Tourism Development (TD) Specialist to join our prestigious team of hospitality professionals who promote the Seattle area as the best destination for leisure and international travel. The Tourism Development Specialist must have a passion for storytelling, travel planning and media relations.

The TD Specialist will work closely with Visit Seattle’s TD Director and TD Managers to provide familiarization tour and PR/media support in the daily operations of the department at Visit Seattle.

Applicants must have 3-4 years of media relations/travel planning experience with demonstrated results. Experience working in the travel and tourism industry preferred; this role is based in Seattle and required to be in the office.

The successful candidate will have a strong work ethic, be highly detail-oriented and able to juggle several things at once, all while providing consistently friendly service to everyone who comes to them for assistance.

What You’ll Do:

You'll use your administrative and operational support skills to plan familiarization tours (fams) for travel professionals, plus assist with departmental media and PR requests. This means you'll: 

• Build, execute and track creative travel trade and media fam trips to Seattle and Washington State in collaboration with the Director and Tourism Manager(s). 
• Work closely with Seattle’s hospitality community to create a variety of interesting and news-worthy itineraries around the city and region.
• Communicate by phone, email and video chat with Visit Seattle’s international agencies to tailor each itinerary to the needs of the hosted guest(s) or group.
• Greet and escort individuals and groups as needed in Seattle and surrounding area. This may include hosting meals, providing information about the region and local partners and the rare overnight stay for itineraries outside of Seattle.
• Support global PR efforts by working with in-market representatives and Tourism Managers to research and develop creative media pitches around each market’s needs.
• Manage and track all media coverage and product development, sharing coverage reports internally and externally.
• Write, edit and proof press materials, which includes but is not limited to: news releases, media alerts, photo captions, media pitches, bios and fact sheets.
• Understand and prioritize the objectives of each campaign, itinerary and project, anticipating needs in advance.
• Stay up-to-date on travel, international news and social media trends to provide recommendations to press materials and local itineraries.
• Stay apprised of destination news and developments by attending industry events and meetings and taking time to regularly explore Seattle.
• Champion Simpleview (CRM) for the TD department including managing the contact database, entering in-kinds and expenses, gathering lead responses and maintaining accurate reporting.
• Manage ad-hoc marketing projects as needed to support the Tourism Development team.

Who You Are:

• Candidates must have 3-4 years of media relations experience with demonstrated results.
• Candidate must be familiar with the city of Seattle.
• Experience working in the travel and tourism industry preferred. Travel planning and itinerary building experience a plus.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Possesses excellent writing skills, with a strong attention to detail; proficiency in AP Style preferred.
• Passion for the travel/tourism industry and the ability to spot trends.
• Highly motivated with a strong work ethic; detail organized, able to multi-task and consistently meet deadlines.
• Friendly, approachable, cooperative, and willing to assist others.
• Able to work occasionally on weekends and evenings.
• Very high proficiency in Microsoft applications, particularly Word, Excel, and Outlook. CRM experiences preferred.
• Must be able to speak, read, write, and understand the primary language, English, used in the workplace. Additional considerations given to those with proficiency in German, French, Japanese, Korean or Mandarin.
• Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Who You’ll Work With: 

You’ll work with the Director, Tourism Development, departmental Coordinator and Managers. In addition, you’ll often collaborate with other departments including Partnership, Marketing, Cultural Tourism, Sales & Services and Public Relations.

What Your Benefits Are: 

Your experience is our most important asset, so we created an environment for you to thrive. We designed the following benefits package with you in mind.

Our benefits are always evolving, though here's a peek into your perks: 

• 15 days of Paid Time Off to start, 12 paid office holidays and 1 Personal Holiday.
• 100% coverage for medical, dental, and vision, with 75% of family coverage premiums covered.
• Paid Parental, Bereavement and Jury leave.
• Company-provided ORCA card and subsidized parking (restrictions apply).
• Monthly cell phone expense reimbursement.
• 401k with up to a 5% company match.
• Starting salary range is $56k - $61k with up to an 5% annual incentive.

Who We Are:

The Visit Seattle team knows and loves Seattle. By promoting our city for travel and tourism, we helped bring 38 million annual visitors in 2023 who spent $8.2 billion in Seattle and King County. The economic power of travel and tourism supported nearly 65,000 Seattle area jobs and contributed $790 million in annual state and local tax revenue. Visit visitseattle.org.

Beyond our sales and marketing vision, you'll appreciate our culture. Visit Seattle has a fun, inclusive culture where everyone is welcome and encouraged to be their authentic selves. We aspire to be as diverse as the city we represent and to honor the unique perspectives of the communities we serve, intertwining them in everything we do. Kindness, respect, and accountability serve as guiding principles for our team at every level. Here, your voice will be heard, and opinions respected as we move toward a more inclusive world together.

We are grounded and guided in our work together by our Values:

• INCLUSION: We value a safe environment where diversity and lived experiences are embraced, authentic vulnerability is encouraged, and active empathy is practiced.
• IMPACT: We value the idea of building a legacy that starts today, by committing to being mindful, helpful, and dedicated to a positive ripple effect that we create. 
• COMMITMENT: We value a community where growing, celebrating and embracing each other for a greater future is encouraged, and an appreciation for sacrifice, grit, integrity, and the passion for conquering the unknown is well recognized. 
• EXCELLENCE: We value having pride and passion in the work that we do by committing to always giving it our all and celebrating success in both the big and small tasks.

Join Us!

Visit Seattle is on a journey to become a fully inclusive, multicultural, anti-racist organization. We are actively seeking a diverse pool of candidates from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.