San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau Rebrands

As part of a significant organizational change, the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau's (SFCVB) Board of Directors voted unanimously to change the name of the organization to the San Francisco Travel Association. Although the organization's name will officially be the San Francisco Travel Association, it will be branded primarily as San Francisco Travel. The change from San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau to San Francisco Travel will come in phases, with the complete transformation to coincide with the launch of the organization's completely redesigned website in January, 2011.

The new name is one outcome of the SFCVB's yearlong Centennial Project, which is designed to prepare the organization to best meet the challenges of the next 100 years. The project will enhance every aspect of the Bureau's value and effectiveness.  It incorporates strategic planning, technology planning, visitor research, convention sales benchmarking and process assessment, organizational realignment, membership structure and branding.

The name grew out of extensive research and evaluation of nationwide and industry trends and best practices, as well as surveys and focus groups. The Board was also presented with a new logo for the organization, developed by San Francisco-based advertising and integrated marketing agency Eleven. The new logo features a grid of nine squares which can be used to showcase nine different images or a single image in a window pane effect.

The San Francisco Travel Association is a private, not-for-profit organization that enhances the local economy by marketing San Francisco and the Bay Area as the premier destination for conventions, meetings, events and leisure travel.  With nearly 1,600 members, it is one of the largest membership-based tourism promotion agencies in the country.

The San Francisco Travel Association was formed in 1909, originally as the San Francisco Convention & Tourist League.  In 1921, the organization changed its name to San Francisco Convention & Tourist Bureau; in 1952 "Tourist" was replaced by "Visitors."

Tourism, San Francisco's largest industry, generates in excess of $8.5 billion annually for the local economy.

Visit www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com.