SEATTLE — Emerald City Comic Con is underway for its 21st year in Seattle. The four-day event at the Seattle Convention Center is expected to bring in around 85,000 people. It is also supposed to bring an economic boost of more than $25 million to the city, with visitors expected to go to restaurants, hotels and attractions.
Comic Con attracts many different people with varying interests.
"This is live-action role-playing,” said William Dillard, who came up from Portland. “It's basically where we're going to fight each other with swords and maybe say some magical words depending on the day."
Many of the visitors who come from outside of the Seattle area are staying in downtown Seattle hotels.
“I am staying at one of the Hyatts nearby,” said Dillard.
"I booked a hotel months ago, so I was able to get in before the craze,” said Kelsey Chapman, who also traveled from Oregon. “I was on the Amtrak last night and there were a ton of people with just like foam swords sticking out of their suitcases and stuff.”
She said that downtown Seattle hotels are filled with a mix of business people and characters right now.
“There are people who kind of make way for you and then there is like a Pikachu that you kind of like wave to on the way,” said Chapman.
“You see them in restaurants and bars and attractions in their wonderful costumes,” said Michael Woody, the Senior Vice President of Community Engagement and Public Affairs for Visit Seattle.
Woody said Visit Seattle is working to attract more big events like this to help revitalize the economy.
“For us, it’s really having that opportunity to welcome these types of events, to welcome more and more of the large conventions, the corporate meetings, those are a little bit slower to come back after the pandemic,” said Woody.
Data from Visit Seattle shows hotel occupancy is increasing. Forty-nine percent of hotel rooms were filled in January of this year. This is more than the past few Januarys, but is still below the 64% occupancy rate in January of 2020, before the pandemic.
In January of this year, downtown Seattle hotels made $40 million in revenue. That is up from $36 million in January of 2023.
Woody said they are on the right track and that increasing hotel occupancy is important.
“When we see a hotel stay it represents so much more,” said Woody. “So much more impact to the economy and the businesses that are here."
While a lot of fun is to be had inside Emerald City Comic Con, visitors plan to take in the fun out in the city, too.
“I know there are a lot of restaurants and bars in the area that are doing theme events, it is something people look forward to all year,” said Chapman.