2016 was a record year for San Francisco tourism, according to the latest stats from the San Francisco Travel Association.
The Association reports that the city welcomed a record total of 25.1 million visitors in 2016, an increase of 2.3 percent from 2015. In 2016, the 25.1 million visitors brought $9.69 billion in spending to San Francisco, up by 3.3 percent from 2015.
2016 marked the seventh consecutive year of record-breaking growth for San Francisco’s tourism industry, said Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of San Francisco Travel.
Of the 25.1 million people who visited the city last year, 10.4 million were overnight visitors and 14.7 million visited for the day, with both figures increasing by 2.3 percent. Overnight visitors spent $7.77 billion (86.8 percent of all visitor spending), up 3.4 percent over the previous year. Day visitors spent $1.18 billion (13.2 percent of visitor spending), up 3.5 percent from 2015. Total direct spending by visitors was $8.9 billion. Convention/meeting direct spending is estimated at $754 million.
Overnight visitors from the United States totaled 7.5 million (72 percent of all overnight visitors) and spent $2.9 billion (38 percent of all overnight guest spending). Domestic overnight visitor volume increased 2.5 percent and their spending increased 4.8 percent over 2016.
Source: San Francisco Travel Association