Seattle's summer mantra: 'Tourism Matters'

The city's tourism industry is fighting for a comeback, as Tuesday is the official launch of the tourist season. The launch was marked with a flag atop the Space Needle that read "Tourism matters."

"There's a ton of optimism (for this year)," said Tom Norwalk with Seattle's Convention and Visitor's Bureau. "I think that's the main thing we finding from our industry."

There was even a rally at Westlake Plaza. So, why all the cheerleading? Because there's an astounding amount of dollars at stake. Seattle's tourism industry is worth between $5 billion and $6 billion a year. It supports 80,000 jobs, and the tourism report from 2009, stunk.

"Meetings canceled; business travel restricted, people stayed close to home and that was around the country and around the world," Norwalk said.

But there are signs of a turnaround. Carnival Cruise Line launched their first sailing of their new Seattle-to-Alaska voyage. The ship make 17 trips between now and September, bringing more than 40,000 tourists.

Hotels are reporting higher occupancy, and the national economy is picking up.