Downtown Seattle's downtown area boasts some 1,800 retailers, thanks to a $2 billion construction boom and revitalization effort that began in 1995. Many worthy of a visit are within an easy walk of IRDC headquarters, the Grand Hyatt Seattle. Nordstrom’s flagship store is practically across the street, and local standouts such as Luly Yang and Polite Society are just a few blocks away. A bit further, but worth the trip, is the mammoth REI flagship that lures shoppers and tourists alike with its 65-foot climbing wall, mountain bike test trail and other hands-on experiences.

And no visit to Seattle is complete without a trip to 100-year-old, internationally renowned Pike Place Market, a melding of daystall merchants, street performers, artists, musicians and purveyors of the peculiar. Well worth the six-block walk from the Hyatt, plus you can pay homage to one of the world’s most ubiquitous retail brands while you’re there: Pike Place is home to the first Starbucks (1971) and its original, scantily clad mermaid logo.