Although the Spokane Convention Centers big new exhibit hall wont open until mid-year, tourism experts here project a successful year for that industry in 2006, and an even better year in 2007.


A nationwide resurgence in hotel occupancy rates and a plethora of fan-attracting sporting events in the region will draw additional travelers to Spokane next year, even though convention-center group bookings are down.


The next two years will jump-start an industry that has been on the rebound since the 2001, terrorist attacks, says Harry Sladich, CEO and president of the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB).


The outlook for 2006 is probably the best its been since the terrorist attacks, he says.


Eric Sawyer, executive director of the Spokane Regional Sports Commission, says 2007 will be even better. With the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and the first and second rounds of the NCAA mens basketball tournament coming in 2007, it will be a banner year, he says.


Sladich describes hotel-occupancy rates as the best indicator of the tourist-generated economy, and says national-occupancy rates are forecast to be at 64.2 percent in 2006, surpassing their level just before the terrorist attacks by at least a percentage point.


As occupancy levels climb, visitor spending does as well, he says.


Though convention business is expected to be down again in 2006, its not known by how much, because the CVB has changed how it calculates the economic impact generated by conventions. In the past, that number had included not only convention activity, but also sporting events and trade shows. Now, the CVB calculates only the economic impact generated by conventions.


For 2006, that amount is projected to be $34 million, compared with the $38 million calculated so far this year by the new method.


Coeur dAlene Chamber of Commerce President and General Manager Jonathan Coe says Kootenai Countys lodging tax receipts for the fiscal year ended June 30 were up 9.2 percent from previous-year figures, well above the statewide increase of 7 percent.


Afterwards, from July 1 through the end of October, lodging tax receipts in Kootenai County were up 7.3 percent, Coe says.


The Silverwood Theme Park north of Coeur dAlene has become one mainstay of our summer economy, he says. Its now attracting tourists from Seattle and the Interstate 5 corridor.


Sawyer says Coeur dAlenes IronMan Triathlon, in June, and Spokanes state B basketball championships in March, which he asserts generate $4.3 million and $1.9 million for the regional economy, respectively, will be joined by a list of other growing and one-time local sporting events.


He says about 3,000 out-of-area athletes will be in Spokane for the Pacific Northwest Club Qualifier Volleyball Tournament in March. For the sixth consecutive year, girls ages 12 to 18 will be in town for the annual event, which will pump an estimated $1.6 million into the economy here.