LGBT Market Momentum
A two-page travel feature on Seattle appears in the Fall Issue of The Out Traveler, the nation's most-read lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) travel publication with a circulation of 180,000. The story profiles regional visitor attractions, hotels, tour and transportation companies, restaurants and cultural attractions. The SCVB PR team has been meeting with the magazine's editors for more than two years regarding Seattle coverage. The cost to place an advertisement with equivalent space in this publication would have cost $50,000. SCVB is now working with the story's author to re-visit Seattle to develop stories for other outlets including Gay.com and Planetout.com. Seattle's profile in LGBT feature and lifestyle publications has increased over the last year. In January, SCVB provided extesive assistance on a four-page travel story which appeared in Instinct magazine, another large LGBT title.

SCVB's Brad Jones represented the destination at the Vancouver, B.C. Pride Festival, July 28-29. Several bureau members participated with promotional materials, including the Grand Hyatt Seattle Hotel, Hotel Deca, Hotel Monaco, Inn at the Market, Pan Pacific Hotel, Tillicum Village and Tours and the W Hotel. Upcoming tradeshows include GayLife Travel Expos in San Francisco on Oct. 2 and San Diego on Oct. 4. Contact Brad Jones, who directs SCVB LGBT marketing, to contribute for these shows. December 2-5, Jones will also attend the 8th International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism in Ft. Lauderdale.

Out Traveler

Asian American Heritage Guide Travelers to Seattle have a new cultural resource available from Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB). The Seattle Asian American Heritage Guide features significant Asian American attractions, museums, heritage sites, historic background and special events information. To create this heritage guide, SCVB worked in conjunction with a review panel of community members to ensure accuracy and to provide proper cultural and historic perspective. The new guide is free of charge and can be mailed to travelers upon request. The guide is also downloadable from the SCVB web site and available at the Citywide Concierge & Visitor Center and several other Seattle area locations. For more information, updates or to download a guide, visit www.visitseattle.org/cultural. The guide is supported by funding from 4Culture and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

AMEX Promotes Cultural Cascades
American Express will implement a regional consumer marketing program themed to the Cultural Cascades marketing partnership between Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Eugene and Vancouver, B.C., as well as Amtrak Cascades train service. The co-branded Cultural Cascades Destinations program, targeted to Northwest consumers between September 15 and November 15, is a multi-market promotion designed to provide American Express cardmembers with regional cultural experiences and valuable offers. The program will drive cardmembers to explore and rediscover the wide range of art within the region while enjoying lodging and dining along the way and driving incremental spending. For more information, visit www.amexnetwork.com/costco.

On the Cultural Calendar
The 2007 Cultural & Heritage Tourism Alliance Conference in Seattle, November 28-December 1, will open registration to all who are interested in early September at www.chtalliance.com.

Young Frankenstein - Monstrously Good for Business
Seattle's latest pre-Broadway, world premiere theater engagement has received a warm ovation from Seattle's business community. The new Mel Brooks musical Young Frankenstein, presented by Seattle Theatre Group and Broadway Across America/Live Nation Seattle, ran through Sept. 1.

SPORTS REPORT

Battle in Seattle Set for December
Following combined efforts from the Seattle Sports Commission and Northwest Sports & Entertainment, Inc. the University of Tennessee men's basketball team has agreed to come to Seattle (KeyArena) to play Gonzaga this December in the Battle in Seattle. "The next four years look really bright for the Comcast Battle in Seattle," said John A. Hines, Director of Northwest Sports & Entertainment, Inc. As reported by ESPN.com on July 11:

"Gonzaga pulled off a coup in successive weeks to get Tennessee to play in Seattle this year and then Connecticut in 2008 in return for the Zags playing in the Hall of Fame Classic in Boston this December. We will say this again: No other school even close to Gonzaga can get high-major schools to play -- either on its homecourt or on a neutral but advantageous court -- like Gonzaga. That's why the Zags aren't a mid-major. Getting these games on TV is what other teams like Southern Illinois and Creighton can't do."

Boeing Classic a Success The Boeing Classic raised $760,000 for The Heart Institute at Virginia Mason, August 25-26. Denis Watson won the tournament after a seven-man playoff. Pictured (left to right): Tod Leiweke, CEO, Seattle Seahawks; John Rindlaub, CEO, Pacific Northwest Region, Wells Fargo Bank; Cheryl Phelps, VM heart patient; Ted Gibbons, MD, Medical Director, The Heart Institute's cardiovascular service line; and Gary S. Kaplan, Chairman and CEO, Virginia Mason Medical Center.

Seattle Seahawks
2007 Season Home Games

Seattle Mariners
Remaining 2007 Season Home Series