Record performance for the year 2019 (26.2 million visitors) have not yet been caught up, but this will not be long in coming: the authorities in charge of tourism in San Francisco have already unveiled their forecasts. " San Francisco Travel does not expect to return to pre-pandemic levels before 2024 for revenue, 2025 for visitor numbers and 2026 for RevPAR (revenue per available room). ".
In the meantime, the destination is riding a wave of positive momentum with 21.9 million visitors visitors in 2022, an increase of 29% compared with 2021 (17 million visitors). And it can count on MICE popular with business customers. " The incredible expansion in tourism in 2022 was sustained in large part by the presence of international visitors and the organisation of the 33 events at the Moscone Center which generated 587 million dollars in revenue "Joe D'Alessandro, President and CEO of San Francisco Travel. " We have made undeniable progress in 2022, thanks in particular to a targeted strategy aimed at attracting foreign travellers and organising events at the Moscone Center. ".
Like many other destinations, San Francisco's recovery was hampered by the late reopening of the Asian continent, while European travellers once again took to the congress floor in SF. European travellers account for a quarter (24%) of the volume of overnight visitors, and even 60% of all overnight visitor spending in 2022. Two European markets also feature in the top 5 tourist-sending countries, led by Mexico, ahead of the UK, Canada, India and Germany.
The return of Asian travellers should give the recovery even more substance, as Joe D'Alessandro points out: " As expected, San Francisco has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic figures. We expect growth to continue this year, particularly as we begin to welcome back more travellers from Asia. With the return of flights to SFO from Asian cities and the easing of health measures, we should see an increase in international visits and spending. "warns the Chairman and CEO of San Francisco Travel.
In the MICE segment, according to San Francisco Travel forecasts, this should translate into 673,000 occupied hotel rooms, i.e. double the number in 2022, while 35 events have already been confirmed at the Moscone Center.
This activity should mathematically contribute to the expected increase in traffic at the airport. SFO expects to welcome more than 50 million passengers by 2023That's 8 million passengers more than last year, and just as many more than in 2019. The local authorities expect traffic to return to normal by 2025 or even 2026.
