CITY OF SEQUIM 2023 TOURISM MARKETING PLAN
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CITY OF SEQUIM
2023 TOURISM MARKETING PLAN
VISIT SUNNY SEQUIM
Sequim and the surrounding Dungeness-Valley continue to be popular tourist destinations
despite the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 Lodging Tax showed an increase over 2019, which had
been the strongest year up to that point. 2022 revenues are tracking similar to 2021. The
abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities and close proximity to larger cities along the 1-5
corridor make the area appealing for those looking for a quick getaway. Out of state and
international visitors are expected to increase as the state and country continue to open up.
Visitors from southern states often flee to the north when temperatures spike in the summer.
Many events returned in full force in 2022 including a full Sequim Sunshine Festival in March
and a 4th of July celebration. The Sequim Irrigation Festival and Sequim Lavender Weekend
were also back to complete events. This is expected to continue for 2023, although plans and
messages will be adjusted as necessary based on the guidance from the Clallam County Health
Department and the State of Washington regarding the pandemic.
Sequim is accurately known as one of the driest places in Western
Washington with an annual rainfall of approximately 16 inches.
Many days there is literally a “blue hole” that sits over Sequim
making it a popular choice for outdoor activities such as hiking,
biking, kayaking, paddle boarding, golfing, and birdwatching.
The unique weather patterns in Sequim support the marketing
message of “Visit Sunny Sequim.”
Sequim residents view the City as a small, friendly town and in 2017; Sequim was named the
Best Northwestern Small Town in USA TODAY’s 10Best Competition. The City has been
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recognized by global and national publications as a highly
desirable destination. Sequim and the Olympic National
Park were named one of the Best Places to Go in 2019 by
Frommer’s International Travel Guide. In 2020 Coastal
Living Magazine named Sequim one of the 20 Best Places to
Live on the Coast. In 2022 Travel + Leisure named Sequim
one of the best small towns in Washington state.
The area is well known as the “Lavender Capital of North America®” and hosts the largest
lavender celebration in the country bringing visitors from all over the world to view the fragrant,
colorful fields. The fields bloom throughout the summer and visitors are encouraged to visit
farms during the whole season and not just during Lavender Weekend. The return of a full
Sequim Lavender Weekend and lavender season resulted in positive media coverage regionally
and nationally in 2022.
2023 marks the 128th year of the Sequim Irrigation Festival. This is the longest running festival
in the state of Washington and was named the “Best Small-Town Celebration” in Evening
Magazine’s 2015 Best Northwest Escapes competition. The festival brings visitors and
participants in the varied activities to the City for the week-long celebration.
The Sequim Sunshine Festival was introduced in March
of 2020. Highlights of the festival were the Sun Fun
Color Run, Interactive Light Experience, 3-D street art,
a beach party dinner and dance, and an illuminated
drone show. A modified version of the festival was
produced in 2021 to accommodate pandemic
restrictions. The full festival returned in 2022 with a
sold-out color run, a new community mural project, a
Sunshine Market, and the return of the illuminated drone
show, which drew thousands of spectators. It is expected that this event will continue to grow
and bring visitors to Sequim in the shoulder season.
The City hosted a fireworks display again for the 4th of July. Live music, a beer and wine
garden, and food vendors, brought people to the park throughout the afternoon and through the
evening. The event was very well attended with estimates between 3,500 and 4,500 attending at
Carrie Blake Park.
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With Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia approximately two hours
away, Sequim is a popular “getaway” for visitors with a
variety of interests. Surrounded by mountains and water and
in close proximity to the Olympic National Park, Sequim’s
appeal as a tourist destination can continue to grow and bring
new and returning visitors each year.
MARKETING GOAL
The goal of the Sequim Tourism Marketing Plan is to increase the number of overnight visitors to the
City of Sequim who will stay in local lodging, dine in local restaurants, and shop in local stores.
The success of this goal will be measured by the collection of Lodging Tax Funds. The City of Sequim
Lodging Tax has increased from $179,932 in 2010 to $484,555 in 2021, representing a 170% increase
over the eleven-year period. Revenues declined in 2020 due to the pandemic but rebounded strong in
2021 with revenues exceeding pre-pandemic amounts.
SEQUIM LODGING TAX
$484,555
$399,832
$378,084
$349,574
$312,525
$283,860
$278,935
$238,854
$228,773
$195,607
$193,027
$179,932
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
TARGET AUDIENCES
Primary Audience:
The Marketing Plan targets leisure travelers, including couples and
families, primarily between the ages of 24 and 70 years of age along
the I-5 corridor between Everett, Washington and Portland, Oregon.
Primary audience visitors will be looking to escape the city and enjoy
the small town, friendly culture in Sequim by attending local events
and festivals and to take advantage of the relaxed atmosphere, natural
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beauty, and outdoor adventure opportunities. Couples may be looking for a romantic weekend getaway, a
unique wedding venue, or honeymoon destination.
Secondary Audience:
This audience includes leisure travelers from beyond the greater Seattle and Portland metro areas. They
may visit Sequim as part of a larger vacation to Washington State and the Olympic Peninsula. These
travelers may be visiting the area to attend a convention or to take a cruise.
MARKETING STRATEGIES
Inspiring visitors to come to Sequim involves telling our story in as many ways as possible. The
marketing strategy includes a combination of traditional advertising, brochure distribution and request
response, social media, media relations, and special events.
Collateral Materials
The City utilizes four primary brochures to disseminate information:
• How Do You Say Sequim – a tri-fold “teaser” brochure with a
compatible message to the Sequim video released in 2014 with
the same title. This brochure is distributed on the Washington
State Ferry system and is mailed as a companion piece with the
Olympic Peninsula Travel Planner as requested. Distribution
also includes eight kiosks at Sea-Tac airport in 2023. The
brochure is widely distributed by the Chamber of Commerce
Visitor Information Center (VIC) and area businesses.
• Sequim Pad Map – this is a widely used tool for visitors with
a large regional map and an inset of the City of Sequim. Used
primarily with visitors when they are already here as a tool to enhance their visit, the map
includes local lodging and attractions and is used daily at the VIC and by local lodging and
commercial establishments.
• Sequim Downtown Map – includes a cartoon fun map and highlights local events. The base
map for this brochure will have to be revisited for the next iteration. The original file has been
corrupted and needs to be redone.
• Sequim Visitor Guide –the City has partnered with Sound Publishing to produce this publication
in recent years, but may consider bringing the production in-house for better content and quality
control in 2023.
Visit Sunny Sequim Website
Visitsunnysequim.com is the official Sequim tourism website. It
provides visitors and potential visitors with information on What
to Do, Where to Stay, Where to Eat, Where to Shop, and Places
to Explore. In 2021, the website had over 110,000 visitors. The
website is utilized by visitors from all over the world, but Seattle
brings the largest number of visitors, followed by other cities
from the Puget Sound area, Sequim, and Portland, Oregon. Visitors to the website declined during the
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pandemic as expected, but 2021 numbers were 25% over 2019. By late July 2022 over 71,000 users had
already visited the website. Visitors will likely surpass 2021 numbers. A technology update and redesign
are expected to begin in fall 2022 and be completed in spring 2023. The updated website will have a
refreshed look, continue to be fully responsive on mobile devices, and ensure visitors and potential
visitors have the most desirable information readily available.
Advertising
The City utilizes a combination of traditional print advertising and on-line advertising to attract new and
returning visitors. Print advertising is meant to inspire and drives viewers to the tourism website for more
information. On-line advertising presents a more immediate call to action and can be tracked by click
through activity. The advertising schedule is designed to create awareness throughout the year and to
take advantage of co-op opportunities to leverage funds. The 2023 advertising plan includes opportunity
funds which will allow response to unknown opportunities in addition to the following planned
advertisements:
• Visitseattle.org – on-line advertising
• Outdoor NW– print for Color Run
• Northwest Travel and Life – print
• 1889 Magazine – print
• 425 Magazine - print
• Washington State Visitor Guide – print, Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission co-op ad
• Coho Magazine – print, Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission co-op ad
• Scenic By-Ways Map and Guide – print
• Transit advertising in Seattle, Portland and Pierce County – co-op campaign (if OPTC continues
transit ads)
• Television advertising in the Seattle area – co-op campaign
• Digital marketing through OPTC co-op advertising and also Sequim specific campaign
Sequim’s advertising program is complemented by the spring and fall campaigns that are run by the
Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission, which, in the past have included transit, television, and digital
co-op advertising opportunities.
Tourism Video
In 2014, the City released its first tourism video titled “How Do You Say Sequim” playing off the often-
mispronounced name of the City. The video is posted on YouTube and on the City’s two websites:
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sequimwa.gov and visitsunnysequim.com. The video continues to appeal to viewers. In 2015 the video
had approximately 9,000 views on YouTube. In mid-year 2022 over 24,000 people had viewed the video
on YouTube. There were more than 7,200 views directly on the City’s website before the video was
exclusively posted on YouTube. The video has a long shelf life and will continue to be promoted to new
viewers. The video has proven to be one of the most popular posts on social media inspiring likes and
follows with positive comments.
The marketing department is planning to develop more short video assets to use for social media
promotion in 2023.
Promote and Support Local Events and Festivals
Sequim and the surrounding Dungeness Valley comprise a very active community with local
organizations hosting events of interest to visitors throughout the year. The City supports many of these
events financially through the Tourism Enhancement Grant (TEG) program. Event organizers must
document how their event brings overnight visitors to Sequim through the grant process, providing
valuable information for the City. The 2023 budget includes increased funds to continue and increase
support of local events and programs. The 2023 budget does not include funds for the COVID-19 relief
Tourism Sustainability Grant program as most events were able to return in 2022 and begin generating
revenue.
The City’s two largest festivals: the Sequim Irrigation Festival and
Sequim Lavender Weekend require additional City support by the
Public Works and Police Departments, often necessitating staff
overtime. Through TEG grants the City pays for this overtime from
Lodging Tax Funds. Both events were back in 2022 and are
anticipated to return in 2023.
The Sequim Lavender Weekend, the City’s largest tourism event, is
additionally supported by a special section on the City’s tourism
website containing information from the multitude of organizations
that host events to ensure potential visitors receive comprehensive
event information. City staff designs and produces an official event
map for download prior to the event and distribution during the
event for the same purpose. In 2022 the City also hosted an in-City
shuttle bus to move visitors to events within the City limits. Ridership was down over previous years and
the effectiveness of the shuttle will need to be reviewed for 2023.
The Dungeness Cup, a youth soccer tournament was cancelled the past few year but will hopefully take
place in 2023. The tournament typically brings 44 teams to Sequim and over 2000 visitors. Organizers
continue to work on ways to grow the event. The City also supports a number of other sporting events
including the North Olympic Discovery Marathon, Run the Peninsula, Tour de Lavender, and in 2023 is
looking forward to the Northwest Tandem Rally coming to Sequim.
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In the spring of 2018, a committee of community volunteers and City staff
began meeting to plan a new event in the winter season, the slowest time
of the year for tourism. The committee settled on the Sequim Sunshine
Festival to be held the first weekend in March 2020. The festival
celebrates Sequim’s unusually dry climate and focused on summertime
type activities including a Sun Fun Color Run, drone show, beach party
dinner and dance, and scavenger hunt game. A modified version of the
festival was offered in 2021, but a full festival returned in 2022 including the growing Sun Fun Color
Run, the Interactive Light Experience, an illuminated drone show, and new this year, a community street
mural, and Sunshine Market Place. The committee is already working on plans for 2023.
The City of Sequim hosted a very well attended fireworks display to celebrate
Independence Day in 2021 and again in 2022 with additional programming of live
music, food, and beverage vendors. This event draws a lot of local residents as well
as visitors, so the 2023 budget reflects splitting the cost of the event between Lodging
Tax and the Parks Department.
Promotional support for local events is provided though:
• www.visitsunnysequim event calendar and homepage “Spotlight” section
• social media programs
• e-newsletter
• promotion to travel writers
• selected advertisements
Social Media Programs
The City of Sequim is continuing to build an audience to its channels.
The City has two Facebook pages: City of Sequim Government and
Visit Sunny Sequim; a YouTube Channel: Sequim Government; a
Pinterest page: Visit Sunny Sequim; two Twitter accounts: City of
Sequim@cityof sequim and visitsunnysequim@visitsequim; and an
Instagram account Visit Sunny Sequim. In 2017, the City entered
into a contract with Method Agency to conduct a campaign on
Facebook and Twitter to build up the number of followers on the
tourism accounts. The City continued to work with Method agency
on social media campaigns through the first quarter of 2020. Tourism
Facebook followers are now over 9,500 and Instagram now has
approximately 1,950 followers. Posts are still made to Twitter, but
not sponsored. The Method Agency did a great job in helping to increase exposure to Sequim’s tourism
social media channels. In 2021 a part-time marketing coordinator position was created and filled and
major responsibilities include social media and event planning replacing previously contracted positions.
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E-Newsletter
The City established an E-newsletter program in the fall of 2015 and is building its base of recipients by
sign ups at special events, conferences, and through the tourism website. The newsletter’s focus is to
provide seasonal information to potential travelers about events and things to do in Sequim. The
newsletter is sent on an approximate monthly basis.
Media Relations
Developing relationships with travel writers and editors
resulting in positive stories, blogs, and articles on Sequim is an
important aspect of telling Sequim’s story and inspiring
tourists to visit Sequim.
Sequim is represented at the Travel and Words Travel Writers
Conference by representatives from the Olympic Peninsula
Tourism Commission. The conference serves as a popular
destination for writers increasing the opportunity for exposure
and education about the Sequim story.
Travel writers are included on the distribution list of the E- newsletter keeping them informed of
upcoming news, events and story ideas.
The responses to requests from writers are timely and accurate, providing a reliable resource to help them
include Sequim in their story.
Media coverage in 2022 has included 1889 Magazine, the Washington Post, King5 TV, Travel + Leisure,
and HGTV.
The City participates in familiarization tours and hosts travel writers and editors as requested. The City
works in cooperation with tourism partners on the Olympic Peninsula, Visit Seattle, State of Washington
Tourism, and the Port of Seattle to participate in more thorough visits and tours by travel writers.
Maximize Strategic Partnerships
Although Sequim Lodging Tax funds have continued to grow, the City continues to work with regional
partners to promote the Olympic Peninsula region. The marketing plan capitalizes on getting the most
from strategic partnerships to boost the impact of monies spent through the follow programs:
• Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission (OPTC) – A partnership of 12 tourism entities on the
Olympic Peninsula that pool a portion of their lodging tax funds to implement larger campaigns
than any one entity would be able to do on their own. These campaigns have included print,
broadcast, metro bus, social media contests and campaigns, and print and digital advertising
components. The campaigns are run in the spring and fall to help bring visitors to the Olympic
Peninsula during the shoulder season. The OPTC also hosts the tourism website
olympicpeninsula.org and creates a regional travel planner. The City pays a small fee to have
their tourism brochure included in mailings to potential visitors who request the OP travel
planner. The City also participates in co-op advertising programs in annual publications with the
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OPTC, which makes otherwise unattainable presence in publications like the Washington State
Visitor Guide and the Coho Magazine affordable while still giving Sequim a unique presence.
The City of Sequim Communications and Marketing Director is an active representative to the
Commission and serves on the Marketing Committee. The City of Sequim 2023 proposed budget
increases Sequim’s participation from $15,000 in 2022 to $18,000 in 2023 as costs for standard
marketing materials are expected to increase with inflation.
• Olympic Peninsula Visitors Bureau (OPVB) - serves as the official Destination Marketing
Organization (DMO) for the Olympic Peninsula and is funded by the Clallam County lodging tax.
Many travel writers, on coordinated tours via visitseattle.org, State of Washington Tourism, or
the Port of Seattle visit Sequim through the contact with the OPVB. The City also partners with
OPVB on the publishing of the regional “pad map”, which includes lodging and attractions, by
applying for and receiving grant monies for approximately half the cost of the publication. The
OPVB has also supported the Sequim Sunshine Festival with grant monies to support marketing
of the event.
• Visit Seattle – Many visitors from outside the primary target region of the Seattle and Portland
metro areas, come to the Olympic Peninsula and Sequim through Seattle. By maintaining a
relationship with Visit Seattle and advertising on the website, Sequim is able to have a marketing
presence to a broader audience than what we could afford on our own. Visit Seattle is very
helpful in providing industry trends and information to area partners. Sequim has not advertised
on this platform for the past few years, but with increased air and international travel is
anticipating in some advertising in 2023.
• Washington State Tourism Alliance (WTA) – The Washington State Legislature approved the
creation of the Washington Tourism Authority, which has hired the Washington State Tourism
Alliance as the marketing agency for the state. The City of Sequim is a member of the WTA and
is represented on the stateofwashington.com website and participates in an OPTC full-page co-op
advertisement in the state Visitors Guide.
• Olympic Culinary Loop – A membership-based organization that promotes the Olympic Coast
Cuisine. Sequim has had a growing number of businesses that participate in the Culinary Loop
over the past years as more restaurants are focusing on local, sustainable food sourcing. Several
Sequim restaurants have received regional and national recognition for their cuisine. The
culinary tourism industry is growing, and it is important to support this vital segment of the
tourism industry.
Visitor Information Center
The City of Sequim contracts with the Sequim-Dungeness
Valley Chamber of Commerce to operate the Visitor
Information Center (VIC) located at 1192 E. Washington
Street on the east end of the City. The VIC coordinates
community volunteers to staff the center six or seven days a
week and provides information to visitors and encourages
them to stay in Sequim or extend their stay in the area. The
VIC provides information on local lodging, businesses, and
attractions and coordinates with those organizations to
ensure they have the appropriate brochures and information.
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The VIC fulfills requests for information from potential visitors by mailing informational packets and
answering phone calls.
Members of the Chamber of Commerce staff work closely with City staff to support community tourism
efforts.
SUMMARY
The Sequim Marketing Plan is designed to attract new and returning visitors to Sequim for overnight
visits by providing readily available information and inspiring new experiences. This is accomplished by
a variety of strategies implemented throughout the year and capitalizing on maximizing the impact of
monies spent through partnerships and developing relationships. The COVID-19 pandemic had an
impact on Sequim tourism but not as severely as originally expected and the recovery was sooner than
anticipated. The abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities in and around Sequim make it an
appealing destination for visitors who want to escape larger cities, but still stay close to home. The return
of local festivals and events has encouraged additional visitors. There are still some unknowns for 2023,
but the marketing plan assumes that tourism and events will continue to take place and draw visitors.
Attachments:
2023 Schedule
2023 Budget
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