Tourism Slowdown in San Francisco

By San Francisco Limousine Specialist on June 5, 2017

The San Francisco Travel Association was created shortly after the earthquake of 1906. It currently held it’s 107th annual meeting and the focus of the talk was about whether foreign tourists are worried about traveling to our country. San Francisco notched a record for tourist visits in 2016, but there is uncertainty in the local travel industry. This uncertainty comes from fears in the Bay Area community about talking coming from Washington D.C. that might make travelers hesitant to come to the U.S. Regardless of personal politics, this is a very important matter for San Francisco. The numbers show that 25 million tourists came to the city in 2016. Those tourists created nearly 80,000 tourism jobs and generated $10 billion in revenue.

SFTA president worries that the current rhetoric coming out of Washington is turning off global tourists. He claims that surveys have shown that plans to travel to the U.S. are down in several key markets, this includes San Francisco. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz also sees trouble brewing for the tourism industry. “I do find myself (acting) as an explainer about what’s happening in the U.S. with our governmental policies.” He claims that no matter what wall might be built UA will fly over it.

San Francisco has been known as a place settled by pioneers and immigrants. It’s position on the West Coast means that it draws a lot of it’s global tourism from Asia and non-European countries. Are these countries being unfairly targeted as trouble makers? San Francisco’s famed Chinatown thinks that the current administration is already affecting their thriving tourism market. People could argue the politics for days, but what San Francisco has to consider is how they’ll continue to promote tourism in the face of uncertain times.