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Visit San Antonio presents tourism recovery metrics and international outreach strategy
Summary
Visit San Antonio’s president told the board the city is recovering toward pre‑pandemic visitor levels, outlined hotel and tax revenue trends, and described outreach tied to conventions and international events including FIFA engagement; councilmembers asked about airlift and convention‑center positioning.
Mario Bask, president of Business San Antonio (Visit San Antonio), presented tourism and hospitality metrics and discussed strategies to strengthen San Antonio’s convention and visitor market.
Bask said the city has seen a strong rebound in visitation and cited 2024 hotel and tourism KPIs, emphasizing the importance of conventions and international marketing. He described outreach that included a delegation to Madrid tied to FIFA outreach and said Visit San Antonio is targeting conventions and sports events as part of a broader five‑year positioning strategy.
Councilmembers asked detailed questions about FIFA airlift and team site decisions, long‑term convention center expansion and the revenue mix that supports tourism activity. Bask said hotel occupancy and sales tax revenues are significant sources for tourism funding and laid out regional marketing priorities to capture more convention business.
Councilmembers recommended continued coordination with the mayor’s office and with regional partners to improve competitiveness against Austin, Dallas and Houston; Bask said Visit San Antonio would continue focused outreach to sports and convention prospects and return with additional KPI details as requested.
