Numbers to impress your friends: The economics of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is known worldwide and occurs annually in the spring. Blooms are weather dependent but are usually expected in April. This year, cold temperatures kept the tulips from peak bloom until late April.
It’s a huge economic generator for Skagit County and Western Washington. Four tulip farms welcome visitors from across the globe to see the tulips in bloom.
The Bellingham Herald took a look at the festival by the numbers.
1. About 500 acres of tulips are grown in Skagit Valley, which represents 75% of the total U.S. commercial production of tulips.
2. More tulip and daffodil bulbs are produced in Skagit County than in any other county in the United States.
3. About 20 million bulbs are harvested each summer in Skagit County. They are shipped to buyers throughout the United States and Canada.
4. About 75 million cut flowers are grown in Skagit greenhouses and fields every year, accounting for over 50% of overall sales. Fresh-cut flowers make up the majority of revenue with the remaining revenue generally split between bulbs and festival attendance during the spring. Fresh-cut flower sales are a bigger percentage of business than bulb sales because growers can sell flowers year-round.
5. The festival brings in 300,000 to 400,000 people from more than 80 countries each year. That’s more than twice the population of Skagit County.
6. About 15%-20% of the people who visit the festival travel from Canada.
7. The festival generates $65 million in revenue for Skagit County.
8. The Skagit bulb industry averages about $20 million in annual gross income, $3 million of which is in bulb sales. However, the majority of the bulbs grown are not sold but rather planted for fresh-cut flower production in greenhouses.
9. Since 1968, cut flower prices have increased three times. Bulb prices have doubled.
This information was gathered from the 2021 Skagit County Agriculture Statistics report by Washington State University Skagit County Extension, Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Executive Director Cindy Verge and Skagit County tulip grower Brent Roozen.
