View From Afar S2, E8: IPW 2026 | Visit Seattle’s Tammy Canavan on a New Waterfront and a Big Summer

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Visit Seattle president and CEO Tammy Canavan sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran to talk about what it takes to put a city on the world stage—and what visitors will actually find when they get there.

Tammy has led Visit Seattle for four years, during which the city has opened the Summit building at the convention center, completed an $800 million, 15-year waterfront overhaul, expanded international air service through Sea-Tac, and welcomed a record cruise season. This summer, Seattle will host six FIFA World Cup matches and an estimated 750,000 visitors—a moment that’s been functioning as an artificial deadline for years of infrastructure work.

Transcript

Michelle Baran: I’m Michelle Baran, deputy editor at Afar and welcome to View From Afar, a podcast that spotlights the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. And in this special series, I’m coming to you live from the floor of IPW, the annual travel conference organized by the U.S. Travel Association to share the best of America with the rest of the world. It’s a pivotal moment. Right now, the U.S. is preparing to cohost the FIFA World Cup and celebrate its 250th anniversary. Even as international travel arrivals are down and global events are affecting travel across the world. But the reasons we travel haven’t changed. In fact, they’ve become more important than ever. Joy and connection. So we’re talking to industry leaders about how their destinations are pivoting in a tough world, how they’re giving travelers experiences to smile about and making visitors feel welcome.

My guest today is Tammy Canavan, president and CEO of Visit Seattle. Tammy has been in the role for four years and what a busy four years it’s been. During that time, the city’s convention center opened its new summit building. SeaTac airport has seen significant international network expansion, and the Seattle waterfront has been completely overhauled. Additionally, Seattle will be hosting six World Cup matches this summer and is expected to welcome upwards of 750,000 visitors for the global sporting event. Clearly, she’s been slacking off. I’m kidding, of course, and I’m so looking forward to finding out how Seattle is making itself even more well known on the international travel map.

Well, hello, Tammy, welcome to View From Afar. We’re so excited to have you. Thank you. So you previously hailed from destination marketing teams that included Monterey in California, Tacoma, Washington and Vancouver, Canada. What brought you to visit Seattle?

Tammy Canavan: Oh my gosh, I love Seattle so much. And I always have. It’s been a it was part of my childhood. When you’re in Canada, American TV stations come into your home. So, you know, watched morning shows and all that kind of stuff. When I got to be in Tacoma, I had such an extraordinary opportunity to work with the team at Visit Seattle and so many people from across the state. And it just is a community that is incredibly collaborative. They really lean in together to build a future. It’s a very long term focused community. So it’s it’s a great city to live in. The quality of life is amazing. And all the things that we talk about as a destination, it’s walkable. It’s, it’s got lots of nature. The values of that community are very much aligned with my own being inclusive and, and conscious of our effect on the planet and all of those kinds of things. So perfect storm, right? It’s a beautiful, beautiful place. It’s just the right culture. It’s got all the right business community, people in it. I just pinch myself every day.

Michelle: Well, given all that, it’s no surprise that it’s having such a growth and development moment right now, particularly as it relates to travel and tourism. Why do you think that is?

Tammy: I think it’s for a number of reasons. You know, we’ve got an incredibly robust cruise industry. We are gateway to Alaska from America. We will have another record breaking season this summer, with 2 million passengers going in and out of the port, and up and down the coast. So that’s a big draw. And it helps draw a lot of of notoriety around that. I think that the fact that we’re true to our values and an authentic destination, we don’t try and be something that we’re not. And we’re pretty clear about what we hope. What kind of behaviors we hope for from visitors. And I think that connects. I think our alignment with the environment and sustainability as travelers become that much more conscious about their carbon footprint and their effect on the planet, and regenerative tourism resonates with with travelers. We just opened a second building as part of our convention center campus. So we’ve got this beautiful new convention center.

Michelle: So I saw the summit, right? Yeah.

Tammy: Yeah. And it’s, um, it too is aligned with our community. It’s a stunningly beautiful building with all kinds of views and very efficient space and Platinum LEED certification and all that kind of stuff. So we’ve got an incredible walkable city. So you really don’t need to have a car. We’ve got great transit, our accessibility to nature and all of those things that are really resonating with travelers right now are everything that we are.

Michelle: Yeah. And speaking of events, Seattle is one of the host cities for FIFA. So exciting. When domestic and international visitors come to Seattle this summer to watch some soccer, what do you think they’ll be most surprised to find?

Tammy: I think they’ll be surprised by all the things I just talked about. You know, the fact that you can walk from your downtown hotel to the stadium is an enormous benefit. If you don’t want to walk, you can catch a Lime bike. I do not recommend driving your car downtown. During that time, we have established what’s called a unity loop and it is a trail that is, um, trail doesn’t sound right. It’s an urban trail that really takes people through neighborhoods to discover a little bit more about the city. I think it’s always surprising when people get to Seattle and it doesn’t match their picture of a rainy destination, because it really doesn’t rain as much as people think it does. And if it does, it’s really more of an Evian mist than it is a downpour. Right. It is stunningly beautiful. And that proximity to nature, it’s just not. There are acres and acres of of parks and shoreline. And just your ability to get away from the hustle and bustle and access nature.

Michelle: Right. And I think that’s such a cool thing about like a sporting event where people are coming for the, the sport. And then it’s like, surprise, you get, you know, to discover this place you maybe wouldn’t have gone to otherwise. So it’s such a unique opportunity for you to showcase your destination to people who almost, I guess, kind of some of them stumbled upon it, you know, in some ways. So it’s like such a lovely opportunity to be. Yeah.

Tammy: Even, even when we bring in trade that we’ve been working with for a long time, if it’s their first visit to Seattle, even though they’ve seen the pictures, they have all the talking points and everything. They come to the city and they’re still surprised. Yeah. On on all of the things that are, I think, magnified from what they imagined. The other thing during FIFA, I think that’s going to be really unique for Seattle is that instead of one fan zone, there are going to be several, and they’ll be spread throughout the city. So there’s an opportunity to not just sort of have everybody gather in one place, but really to explore more of the city and enjoy that festival atmosphere.

Michelle: Speaking of international travel, as someone who serves on the US Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, what are your sort of biggest concerns right now just in terms of travel to the US from abroad? And what message are you bringing to government officials regarding inbound travel?

Tammy: You know, I think our biggest singular challenge, you know, we have incredible airlift. We’ve got a welcoming community. But I think our single biggest challenge is really the swirl of rumors and rhetoric that mostly aren’t true. And that is causing some reticence in some in some countries to, to come and visit. I think what we share with our government, whether that’s federal, state or local, is to offer clarity and to be conscious of that. You know, certainly some of the policies that are being talked about are not helpful. A visa integrity fee is a huge chilling, has a huge chilling effect on people, and would make us one of the most expensive destinations in the world to visit.

Some of the inspections that people are concerned about, they’re not actually happening right now. And so just working with our federal government and making sure that when we’re talking out loud, we are talking about things that are real and not and not proposed. And of course, you know, restoring the funding for Brand USA is an enormous priority for us. Without brand USA, the international markets that we’re in right now certainly wouldn’t be as accessible. We would never have been able to break into India, for example. It’s a huge complex market, and they’ve opened doors for us that we would not have been able to. We wouldn’t have had the resources to do the the research, even to figure out where we start in that market. And it is now the third largest international market that we have. It is the fastest growing. So those kinds of things are seemingly maybe small to a legislator when they’ve got all the other problems of the world on their shoulders. And I think they we’ve seen some good things come out of the federal government investment in infrastructure, some other things. So we try and and thank them for that and remind them to do no more harm. Right? Right.

Michelle: And, you know, given all that, assuming we can, uh, at least lure some travelers over for this big event when they come to Seattle, they’re going to notice that the waterfront has got a whole new look and feel. It was a huge undertaking. It took more than 15 years and $800 million. What does this mean for the city and what is it like to finally see this completed it?

Tammy: I’m getting goosebumps while you’re talking about it. And it’s not just because of the air conditioning in the room. It is. It is one of the most beautiful waterfront city waterfronts that that I have ever seen. And yes, I’m a little bit biased, but I think just as a resident that has watched that waterfront transform from having a viaduct that really separated downtown from the water to this beautiful, accessible cultural showcase, culinary showcase. It’s walkable, it’s fun. Um, there’s playgrounds, there’s all kinds of stuff going on there. It is certainly a talking point. What an incredible showpiece for us as well. It’s got event space. So we will we will see all kinds of activations during the summertime, but we do year round for residents and visitors. So it’s a it’s a game changer for us for sure. That connection, I mean, we are a port city. And so being able to connect the waterfront with downtown in a way that makes people actually really want to be there is just a huge asset for us.

Michelle: Right? Absolutely. And you talked about sort of, you know, there’s obviously all this opportunity when people come for cruise, their pre and post spending time, you know, before and after their sailing, spending time before and after the soccer matches. So, you know, we all know about the Space Needle and the flying fish at Pike Place Market, but Seattle has some really unique, vibrant neighborhoods. Where would you send someone who wants to go beyond the downtown corridor.

Tammy: Well, I think if you wanted to just sort of stay close and walk, um, the CID, the Chinatown International District, is a bit of a hidden gem. It’s, it’s a really cool, authentic neighborhood with some great restaurants, some great shops, some, um, really great artisan displays and things like that. I think that Capitol Hill is sort of just up the hill from downtown easy walk. It’s uphill. Um, but it is an easy walk. Some really neat nightlife venues. Uh, I think that there are all over King County. There are some amazing neighborhoods as well. If you’re going to sort of trip over to Bellevue, you might want to do a little bit of shopping or head over to Kirkland and Juanita Bay, or there are just so many places to explore within such a compact area.

Michelle: You mentioned this idea of what a walkable city it is. There’s also the light rail. How has especially the light rail transit transit game in Seattle, do you need a car to get around anymore or can you go without one? Say, if you were going to a World Cup match.

Tammy: So tell you, I live downtown and I have a car. It’s a hybrid, and I have just learned that I now need to take it out for a jaunt every weekend because the battery actually died. It’s a new car, and in less than a year, the battery died because I wasn’t driving it enough. So that that tells you, no, you do not need a car. It’s walkable, but also the transit system is amazing. We just have opened a new link from the east side of Lake Washington to the west. So if you’re not familiar with our geography, that that just opens up a whole new area. You can easily catch light rail from the airport to downtown. The bus routes that complement that are great. We’ve got free shuttles that are moving people around the downtown. So yeah, I recommend not driving. Um, and it’s not hard. It’s easy to navigate, but you really don’t need to. And frankly, it’s just easier to not. We’re also an amazing rideshare town. So, you know, it doesn’t take more than five minutes. Like five minutes would be a long wait to get your Uber right. So yeah, don’t drive. You don’t need a car.

Michelle: I love it. I love it. You know, Seattle has also a little bit of a complicated relationship with its own image. There’s been a conversation about downtown safety and homelessness and how that affects sort of perception versus reality. In the Bay area. We have a similar situation in San Francisco. How do you navigate that as a marketer, sort of real talk versus, you know, what the expectation and then what the reality is on the ground?

Tammy: Yeah. You know, I don’t think that there’s a city in North America, big or small, that doesn’t have some sort of challenge, whether that is a substance challenge or an unhoused population. Um, you know, we see it growing in, in towns big and small all across North America. And so I think that’s part of it is that we’re not running away from what that is. We are we are facing those challenges head on. I do think that the West Coast of America gets painted with a similar brush, that there’s an assumption that it’s still the wild, wild West, and everybody can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and that’s just not the case. I think that during the pandemic, we saw everything from disruptions happening, from the murder of George Floyd to some of the other things that were happening just as a result of all of the conditions that we all were living under from that moment to now. Um, not just Seattle, but Portland and San Francisco and San Diego have all seen great improvements. So I think that we’re, we’re not really much different from any other American city right now.

So when, when we’re talking about that, we’re talking to you about that, right? We’re, we’re just being really honest about what our conditions are and saying that we, we have been rated as one of the safest city in the United States. And so we lean into those kinds of things. We look for opportunities to tell that story, to have people outside third parties come in and take a look at our community and say, you tell us, do you feel safe? You know, is is this a place where where you’re comfortable walking around? Because that’s what we do every day as residents. And it’s, it’s something certainly that, that we live and breathe and, and we want to share that reality with others. But perceptions are perceptions, right?

Michelle: Right. And I find that with these situations, there’s nothing that’s stronger than, you know, individuals who come and see for themselves. And then sort of that power of absolutely, you know, telling your friends what you experienced. So it sort of becomes, you know, a loophole of communication through experience. Yeah.

Tammy: It’s like the first time you see the Rocky Mountains, you know, they’re mountains and then you see them in person. You’re like, oh, that’s I get it right. They’re enormous. And I think that it’s the same effect when you, when you make assumptions about a place that you’ve never been. Right. Come experience it, you know, and, um, tell us how you tell how it was and how we can always make that experience better. We want.

Michelle: To know. And that’s also one of the exciting things like when you’re on the world stage, when there’s an event like, you know, the World Cup coming, It’s also an opportunity. You know, people are going to be seeing Seattle on their TV, you know, and just be able to see through their eyes how they’re experiencing the city. So it’s also just an opportunity to showcase all that to, to people who don’t know the city and don’t know what it’s like there. So.

Tammy: Absolutely. Well, and we work with our resident base as well, right? Trying to, trying to make sure that we’re building champions of our own residents because there. How often are you actually a tourist in your own town? Not so much. Right. And so I think that the, the World Cup has been a great catalyst for developments. We’ve seen that, you know, at the airport, with transit, with the waterfront, all of those things that it’s put this artificial deadline in for things like that. And I, and I’m excited for next month because the city is going to right now, we’re eight and a half months pregnant, right? We’ve, we’ve been working towards this for so long. And we’re, we’re a little fatigued about carrying the baby around. And the baby’s going to be born next month and everybody’s going to think it’s the most beautiful, awesome baby that ever was. I’m excited about that sort of renewal of, of civic pride. We saw a little bit of that, um, when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl and we had this great parade and the joy that everybody felt in the city. And I think that we’re going to feel that again this summer, not just within our own resident base, but with people that are new raving fans of Seattle.

Michelle: Right. It’s fun to play host, you know, and I would think that for the residents as well, that it’s fun to say, you know, to showcase your town a little bit and show it off a little bit.

Tammy: Yeah, yeah. Well, and Sound Transit has been really great in making sure that they’re catering to both the commuter and the visitor. So they’ve increased frequency of trains. They have kept the the price of transit at $3. So there’s, there are a lot of things that our local community is doing to make sure that we do feel good as hosts, that we don’t feel displaced or inconvenienced, but that we’re, that we’re taking part in, in the joy that everybody else is feeling as a visitor.

Michelle: Right? Yeah. So your visit Seattle’s first female president and CEO, and you’ve been celebrated by many organizations. You recently were recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal as a woman of influence. So congratulations. What is your number one piece of advice for other female executives or aspiring ones in the travel industry?

Tammy: I think my my biggest piece of advice is always surround yourself with people that you can learn from. And when people invite you to be that person for them, open the door. I think that I have benefited from so many mentors, men and women in this industry, and it and it is a wonderful industry to be in that way. Don’t be intimidated by people. We all put our pants on one leg at a time, right? And, and we’ve all been afforded those opportunities. So I always just encourage. Reach out to, to people that are going to inspire you and make you want to learn things or be a better human or a better leader or whatever that is, and be kind always.

Michelle: Yes, that is a, that is a key one. So despite everything going on in the world at Afar, we see travel as a way to bring experience and joy. Seattle has a particular kind of low key joy. The coffee culture, the, you know, bookstores, the water. How are you thinking about creating experiences that feel genuinely joyful for visitors, especially heading into a year when so much of the national conversation is quite heavy?

Tammy: I think this is where we lean into our value of inclusiveness, right? We we welcome everybody as they are, who they are, and there are some really great opportunities that already exist for that. We’ve got some amazing festivals that are are really showcasing Washington food and wine or Washington arts. We have in the fall a festival called Refract that showcases the glass artistry. Um, we are the largest producer of, of glass art in the United States. So, um, you know, we’re the home of Dale Chihuly and, and others like that, but this is, you know, hundreds of artists and venues from all over the county that are a part of that. So I think that those are the kinds of things that are sort of celebrating culture and different walks of life and different cultures like that. And we continue to see those kinds of things grow.

There’s there’s not many weekends where there’s not something really fun to do. And you mentioned the fish throwing earlier that in itself, like you go down to Pike Place Market and there’s just all kinds of languages and there’s flowers and fun and things like that going on. And I think that just kind of reflects who we are as a people. You know, we we smile, we greet you on the street. That freaks people out a little bit sometimes. But it’s not unusual that somebody will actually make eye contact with you and just say good morning. Yeah. And I think just being who we are is a is a great thing. And taking advantage of all this new infrastructure with some of the more traditional venues and some of the, the, the hidden gems, right. Go, go stick some gum on the gum wall.

Michelle: It’s fun. It’s the little things, honestly, like those little bits of joy that are so, so important right now. Well, Tammy, thank you so much for joining us on View From Afar. This has been amazing.

Tammy: Thank you so much for having me.

Michelle: Thanks for joining us for this episode of View From Afar. In the show notes, you’ll find links to everything we discussed today, as well as visit Seattle’s social media handles and website, and be sure to follow along this week to hear more interviews with industry experts. You can find more Views from Afar on and be sure to follow us on Instagram and TikTok. We’re @AfarMedia. If you enjoyed today’s exploration, I hope you’ll come back for more great interviews. Subscribing always makes that easy, and be sure to rate and review the show on your favorite podcast platforms. It helps other travelers find it.

This has been View From Afar, a production of Afar Media. The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Billie Cohen and me, Michelle Baran. Music composition from Epidemic Sound. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media Podcast Network. Visit to listen and subscribe to its other fine shows like Culture Kids and The Explorers podcast.