For nearly 100 years the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau has worked on behalf of its members to promote San Francisco as the destination of choice for conventions and leisure travel. The Bureau is an outgrowth of the San Francisco Convention and Tourist League, a non-profit, local business association founded in 1909 to reclaim the City's position as a world-class destination in the wake of the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire.

The Bureau continues that mission today, aggressively marketing and selling San Francisco to attract visitors. The Bureau is a private, not-for-profit, 501(c)6 membership organization, headed by a Board of Directors made up of 54 business leaders from various companies, elected by the membership. Additionally, the Bureau recently established a 501(c)3 foundation to produce educational events and research utilizing existing Bureau staff and funding.

Although it holds a contract with the City to market San Francisco, the Bureau is not a government agency. Working closely with the City and organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and the San Francisco Hotel Council, as well as the leveraged strength of our membership base, the Bureau has produced positive results for the San Francisco and greater Bay Area economy.

In 2002, San Francisco hosted 13.7 million visitors who spent roughly $5.9 billion during their stay (that's $16.2 million a day). That makes tourism one of our most important industries. Here's why:

• Visitor dollars spent here generated $343 million in taxes and fees that support The City's general budget, health and safety, arts and cultural organizations, recreational facilities and low-income housing.
  
  
• Visitor dollars supported about 60,500 jobs in the hospitality and tourism industries. That's about $1.5 billion in local payroll (excluding tips).
  
  
• If the visitor industry were to disappear tomorrow, each San Francisco resident would need to spend more than $20 a day (or $7,466 a year) to replace the loss in revenue.
  

Largest Bureau Worldwide

Some 2,000 Bay Area businesses are Bureau members making our membership base one of the largest of any convention and visitors bureau worldwide. Members also make the Bureau one of the largest and strongest business associations in San Francisco. Member companies partner with the Bureau in selling San Francisco as a destination for domestic and international association and corporate meetings planners and group and individual travelers - efforts that help make San Francisco a vibrant place to do business.

Bureau Membership

Nearly every San Francisco business, large and small, benefits from the traffic and spending of tourists and convention-goers. Hotels, restaurants, retail shops, tour and transportation companies, attractions, and other companies that have a large stake in the visitor market leverage the strength of their Bureau membership to reach these delegates.

Members are provided exclusive programs and services for maximizing their marketing, networking, relationship and educational development enabling them to capture a larger share of the visitor market. .

Browse our member business directory.

Bureau Funding

Our efforts to attract conventions and visitors is made possible through both public and private sector support. About 48 percent of our upcoming $15.6 million 2003-2004 operating budget -- which took affect July 1 -- comes from the private sector in the form of membership dues, advertising, e-commerce and program revenues. The remaining 52 percent comes from a small portion of the revenue generated by the tax on San Francisco hotel rooms, through a contract with the City to promote San Francisco as a destination and to book conventions and trade shows in the City's convention facilities.

Bureau's Efforts Impact Entire Bay Area

The impact of visitors to San Francisco reaches far beyond the City itself. While the majority of Bureau-member businesses operate within the boundaries of the City, a third are located outside of San Francisco. These businesses recognize that attracting visitors to the City also generates tourism expenditures in their communities.

Here are some visitor statistics from 2002 that demonstrate the broad impact of the City's visitor industry:

• More 3.5 million overnight visitors stayed in commercial accommodations in 2002. Add in "day trippers" and those who stay with friends or relatives, or in surrounding communities, and the total jumps to 13.7 million visitors a year.
  
  
• 27 percent of visitors to San Francisco live within a day's drive of the City. That's 3.7 million leisure visitors from our own region.
  
  
• Thousands of visitors to the City take day trips beyond city limits or extend their visit throughout Northern California by taking side trips to other area locales and attractions.
  
  • Four in 10 visitors venture out to Muir Woods, Tiburon or Sausalito.
  • 27 percent visit the wine country.
  • 23 percent visit the Monterey peninsula.
    

Locations, Mailing Addresses and Phone Numbers for SFCVB offices:

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