Tourism Development Specialist – Tour & Travel Planning Administrator

Industry: Tourism Development

Company: Visit Seattle

What’s extraordinary about this job:

Visit Seattle is seeking a Tourism Development (TD) Specialist – Tour & Travel Planning Administrator to join our prestigious team of hospitality professionals who promote the Seattle area as the best destination for leisure and international travel. The right candidate must have a passion for Seattle, storytelling and travel planning.

This role will work closely with Visit Seattle’s Senior Tourism Development Director and Managers to provide familiarization tour support, including planning, executing and reporting, in the daily operations of the department at Visit Seattle.

Applicants must have 2-3 years of travel planning or administration experience. Experience working in the travel and tourism industry preferred; this role is based in Seattle and required to be in the office.

The successful candidate will have a strong work ethic, be highly detail-oriented and able to juggle several things at once, all while providing consistently friendly service to everyone who comes to them for assistance.

Who You Are:

• Candidates must have 2-3 years of travel planning, administration or operational experience.

• Candidate must be familiar with the city of Seattle.

• Experience working in the travel and tourism industry preferred. Travel planning and itinerary building experience a plus.

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

• Possesses excellent writing skills, with a strong attention to detail.

• Passion for the travel/tourism industry and the ability to spot trends.

• Highly motivated with a strong work ethic; detail organized, able to multi-task and consistently meet deadlines.

• Friendly, approachable, cooperative, and willing to assist others.

• Able to work occasionally on weekends and evenings.

• Very high proficiency in Microsoft applications, particularly Word, Excel, and Outlook. CRM experience preferred.

• Must be able to speak, read, write, and understand the primary language, English, used in the workplace. Additional considerations given to those with proficiency in German, French, Japanese, Korean or Mandarin.

What You’ll Do:

You’ll use your administrative and operational support skills to plan familiarization tours (fams) for travel professionals, plus assist with other Tourism Development initiatives. This means you’ll:

• Build, execute and track creative travel trade and media fam trips to Seattle and Washington State in collaboration with the Senior Director and Manager(s).

• Work closely with Seattle’s hospitality community to create a variety of interesting and news-worthy itineraries around the city and region.

• Communicate by phone, email and video chat with Visit Seattle’s international agencies to tailor each itinerary to the needs of the hosted guest(s) or group.

• Occasionally greet and escort individuals and groups as needed in Seattle and surrounding area. This may include hosting meals, providing information about the region and local partners and the rare overnight stay for itineraries outside of Seattle.

• Manage and track all media coverage and product development, sharing coverage reports internally and externally.

• Stay up to date on travel, international news and social media trends to provide recommendations to press materials and local itineraries.

• Stay apprised of destination news and developments by attending industry events and meetings and taking time to regularly explore Seattle.
• Champion Simpleview (CRM) for the department, including managing the contact database, entering in-kinds and expenses, gathering lead responses and maintaining accurate reporting.
• Along with the other Coordinator, provide general administrative support to the department, such as handling printing, packing, filing, and shipping tasks. Manage inquiries and image requests, track promotional items, coordinate meetings, conduct research, keep managers informed of new information, submit materials for reporting and meetings, and maintain up-to-date digital information across all markets and languages.
• Manage ad-hoc projects as needed to support the Tourism Development team.

WhoYou’llWork With:

You’llwork with the Senior Director,Tourism Development, departmental Coordinator andManagers.In addition,you’lloftencollaborate with other departments includingMembership, Marketing, Cultural Tourism, Sales &Services andPublic Relations.

What Your Benefits Are:

Your experience is our most important asset, so we created an environment for you to thrive. We designed the following benefits package with you in mind.

Our benefits are always evolving, thoughhere’sa peek into yourperks:

• 15 daysof Paid Time Off to start, 12 paid office holidays and 1 Personal Holiday.

• 100% coverage for medical, dental, and vision, with 75% of family coverage premiums covered.

• Paid Parental, Bereavement and Jury leave.

• Company-provided ORCA card and subsidized parking (restrictions apply).

• Monthly cell phone expense reimbursement.

• 401k with up to a 5% company match.

• Startingsalary range is $56k – $61k with up to an 5% annual incentive.

Who We Are:

The Visit Seattle team knows and loves Seattle. By promoting our city for travel and tourism, we helped bring more than 34 million annual visitors in 2022 who spent$7.5 billionin Seattle and King County. The economic power of travel and tourism generates more than 62,000 Seattle area jobs and contributes $690 million in annual state and local tax revenue. Visitvisitseattle.org.

Beyond our sales and marketing vision,you’llappreciate our culture. Visit Seattle has a fun, inclusive culture where everyone is welcome and encouraged to be their authentic selves. We aspire to be as diverse as the city werepresentand to honor the unique perspectives of the communities we serve, intertwining them in everything we do. Kindness, respect, and accountability serve as guiding principles for our team at every level. Here, your voice will be heard, and opinions respected as we move toward a more inclusive world together.

We are grounded and guided in our work together by our Values:

• INCLUSION: We value a safe environment where diversity and lived experiences are embraced, authentic vulnerability is encouraged, and active empathy is practiced.

• IMPACT: We value the idea of building a legacy that starts today, by committing to being mindful, helpful, and dedicated to a positive ripple effect that we create.

• COMMITMENT: We value a community where growing, celebrating and embracing each other for a greater future is encouraged, and an appreciation for sacrifice, grit, integrity, and the passion for conquering the unknown is well recognized.

• EXCELLENCE: We value having pride and passion in the work that we do by committing to always giving it our all and celebrating success in both the big and small tasks.

Join Us!

Visit Seattle is on a journey to become a fully inclusive, multicultural, anti-racist organization. We are actively seeking a diverse pool of candidates from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.