San Francisco posts another record year for tourist arrivals
San Francisco had a record year for tourism in 2018, welcoming 25.8 million visitors.
Data from San Francisco’s tourism bureau showed an annual increase of 1.2% with tourism related spending up 2.3% to $10 billion.
International visitor spending made up nearly half of the total, with Mexico, China, the UK and Canada the top markets.
San Francisco Airport posted a record-high 57.8 million passengers in 2018.
The increases come as the city is trying to improve its image amid rising crime and homelessness.
"The brand of San Francisco is threatened if we can’t make sure the street experience is more positive. That’s a real priority of ours," said Joe D’Alessandro, CEO of San Francisco Travel.
Average hotel occupancy was 82.2% which is slightly down on 2017.
High room rates and a supply crunch is forcing some visitors to stay elsewhere in the Bay Area but they are still coming into the city.
Average daily room rate was up more than 6% to $264.53.
"This is the ninth consecutive year that we are able to report record-breaking outcomes for San Francisco’s tourism industry," D’Alessandro said, adding that the industry supports 82,000 jobs.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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