The San Francisco CVB says it’s “casting a wider net” for meetings and conventions after releasing its annual estimate of tourism on the local economy, which shows that numbers are down.
In 2009, San Francisco welcomed 15.4 million visitors, a decrease of 5.8 percent from 2008. These visitors spent $7.8 billion in 2009, a decrease of 7.8 percent from the previous year.
Nationally, the U.S. Travel Association had forecast a drop in total travel expenditures of 8.8 percent for 2009.
“This data is not unexpected but it’s especially disturbing in light of the importance of tourism to the economic health of San Francisco,” said Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco CVB.
The tourism industry generated over $426 million in taxes for the city of San Francisco, down 19.2 percent from the previous year. Tourism supported 66,837 jobs in 2009 with an annual payroll of $1.8 billion.
