Writer: Ryan Gandolfo
3 min read September 2023 — San Antonio has a strong suite of tourism and hospitality offerings, from culinary creations to UNESCO designations, and as the River City’s tourism and hospitality sector grows, national and international visitors will define its ceiling.
The economic impact of San Antonio’s hospitality industry reached $19 billion in 2022. It marks a record high for the metro area that attracted 34.8 million visitors, contributed $262 million in taxes and fees to the city and nearly $500 million to local governments combined, according to Visit San Antonio.
“I believe the greatest opportunity lies in raising awareness about San Antonio on a national level as a tourist destination. Not enough people outside of Texas know much about the city and there is limited knowledge about what San Antonio truly has to offer,” Hotel Emma CEO Jon Sakshaug told Invest:. As the operator of Tripadvisor’s top-rated U.S. luxury hotel in the country, Sakshaug believes the potential is there but the region’s key stakeholders need to act. “While San Antonio has a great opportunity to become the next hot destination, we’ll still need to expand our reach beyond Texas to achieve that,” he noted.
Visit San Antonio, the organization responsible for driving tourism through leisure, convention and business, is planning to up the ante on its marketing efforts. At the end of August, the group announced the selection of Austin-based multicultural marketing group Rest of the World as their new tourism advertising agency. The San Antonio Business Journal reported the company will work with local agency Chamoy Creative to expand “branding efforts nationally and internationally” in the market.
When Invest: spoke with Visit San Antonio President and CEO Marc Anderson, he highlighted the $500 million expansion at the Alamo, the site of a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution and a main tourism attraction today, as well as its reputation as the cradle of Tex-Mex.
“San Antonio is not only the culinary capital of Texas but one of only two UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy in the United States. We’ve opened 100 new restaurants and 12 new hotels since the beginning of the pandemic, which gives visitors more opportunities to experience and explore the unique cultural amenities in our city,” said Anderson.
But the organization’s proactive approach on global development may decide the steepness of the city’s tourism growth trajectory. “We opened offices in London in October 2022. We are looking at further expansion in Europe as well as Asia later in 2023. These international travelers stay much longer than the domestic traveler and also spend a lot more,” Anderson noted.
In May 2023, San Antonio hosted IPW 2023, the leading international inbound travel trade show, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The event centered around authentic experiences that introduced attendees to American culture away from L.A. or the Big Apple.
There’s also a foray into the metaverse that San Antonio tourism leaders are hoping will bridge a gap in delivering an immersive city experience. Still in the early innings of this virtual disruption, McKinsey estimates the travel industry’s virtual equivalent could be more than $20 billion by 2030.
For now, investments in tourism are being made to expedite San Antonio’s status as a larger competitor among U.S. markets.
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