SEATTLE — Tourism is booming in Seattle. Just take a look at the Space Needle.
The family-owned landmark is set to unveil the biggest renovation in its 56-year history next month, a $100 million investment in a single year of construction that transformed the structure’s top viewing level with floor-to-ceiling glass.
Seattle and King County benefited from $7.4 billion of spending by a record 40 million visitors last year, a number that has grown annually since the 2008 recession, according to Visit Seattle, a nonprofit advocacy group for the tourism industry.
Dozens of cranes that have become a mainstay of the city’s skyline over the past decade aren’t just building apartments and offices, but hotels to absorb the flood of arrivals at Seattle Tacoma International Airport.
“The environment is friendly with this type of investment. It wasn’t a difficult thing at all to obtain financing,” said Ron Sevart, president and chief executive officer at Space Needle LLC. “What we like to say is trends last 50 years. What this investment is more about is the next 50 years, and making sure the space needle stays relevant.”