According to tourism impact numbers released by Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB), a regional travel and tourism rebound is underway.

Overnight visitor volumes in the city and county increased 6.1 percent in 2010, according to Economic Impacts of Travel, 2010: Seattle and King County, Washington, compiled by Dean Runyan Associates for SCVB. Those 9.3 million travelers spent $5.5 billion while visiting the city and county, an increase of 9.2 percent.

Seattle and King County visitors paid $440 million in state and local taxes in 2010 (up 8.4 percent); about 95 percent of these taxes were sales or excise taxes on goods and services purchased by visitors.

“These tourism statistics confirm positive anecdotal reports that we’ve been hearing from many tourism businesses throughout the region,” said Tom Norwalk, SCVB President & CEO. “However, serious industry-wide challenges remain and we’ve learned that our industry is fragile and vulnerable to economic, political and environmental events. We must continue to work together to maintain stability and stimulate future growth.”

For more details on the recent tourism data, please visit the Seattle Times.

Interested in the SCVB? Visit their website.