Tourists are beginning to visit San Francisco again, according to data published by the San Francisco Travel Association. As the fourth largest city in California, San Fran has historically attracted large numbers of tourists, particularly those traveling down the west coast of the United States.
As with most large cities across the US and beyond, tourism numbers were hit hard by the Coronavirus pandemic, with many nations across the world shutting their borders to try and halt infections.
Since the US re-opened its borders in November 2021, many popular destinations have naturally seen a resurgence in tourism numbers, and San Francisco is seemingly no different.
According to officially published data, In 2019, the final full year before the pandemic, there were 26.2m visitors to San Francisco. In 2022, the first full year since the pandemic, there were 21.9m visitors.
While last year’s numbers aren’t quite back to pre-pandemic levels, there is cause for optimism as they are massively up on 2020 and 2021’s numbers. In 2020, San Fransisco welcomed approximately 11.8m visitors, while in 2021, it welcomed 17m.
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Corporate Events Are Aiding the Recovery
Much of this growth has been fueled by international travelers; however, the city has also hosted a number of large corporate events, which have seen thousands of tourists flock to the US’ 13th most populous city.
The Moscone Center is the largest convention complex in San Fransisco, hosting 33 events throughout 2022. This is a number that Nicole Rogers, San Francisco Travel’s executive vice president, is looking to improve on in 2023 and 2024 as they look to get back to 2019’s tourism figure. She said:
“Given that association’s book conferences several years out, our strategy for 2024 is to secure more corporate events, likely taking place in hotels because of their smaller size, to support the hospitality, event, and tourism business in the city.
Travel and tourism executives in the city are also banking on more Asian tourists over the next couple of years. After China ditched its Covid policies in December 2022, it is only natural to expect millions of people from Asia to return to the US this year.
Joe D’Alessandro, San Francisco Travel’s president and CEO, has said he is confident that China’s return to the tourism playing field will prove beneficial to San Fransisco:
“San Fransisco is not yet reaching pre-pandemic numbers as anticipated, but we expect to see further growth this year, especially as we begin to welcome back more travelers from Asia. With the return of flight routes to San Francisco International Airport from cities across Asia and ease on testing requirements, we should see increased international visitation and spending.”
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The Importance of Tourism in San Francisco
The reason why Rogers and D’Alessandro are so keen to city more tourists in the city is that they are vital in boosting its revenues which have taken a severe hit in recent years. Out of the 62 largest cities across the US and Canada, San Francisco’s economy has recovered the slowest, demonstrating just how vital tourists are to the area.
Again, though, there is positive news in this regard. Visitors spent around $7.4 billion in San Fransisco last year, more than double the $3.6 billion spent in 2021.
This article was produced and syndicated by The Impulse Traveler.
