DEPARTMENT: Convention & Sports Facilities
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Patricia Muzquiz Cantor
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Briefing on the 2021 Visit San Antonio Business Plan to include the San Antonio Tourism Public Improvement District
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this item is to provide City Council with a presentation and update on the Visit San Antonio 2021 Business Plan to include the San Antonio Tourism Public Improvement District (SATPID).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Visitor Industry has been a long-standing key economic generator for the City of San Antonio. In 2019 it represented a $15.2 billion annual economic impact and provided for more than 140,000 local jobs as the city welcomed approximately 39 million visitors annually. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely and negatively impacted the visitor industry locally, nationally, and globally.
Visit San Antonio is poised to help lead the San Antonio tourism industry recovery efforts and work with the City of San Antonio on positively affecting the local economy with enhanced sales and marketing efforts to drive visitation to San Antonio and generate additional visitor spending.
Visit San Antonio develops an Annual Business Plan which highlights various goals, objectives, and strategies, which it intends to employ in the coming year so as to enhance the visitor industry and local economy. Some key areas highlighted in the Business Plan will include:
• Marketing & Communications recovery efforts will strive to position San Antonio as the preferred leisure and meetings destination in Texas. Some of the goals in 2021 include:
• Grow brand awareness regionally
• Grow awareness in international markets focusing in Mexico
• Support and enhance Sales efforts to generate convention and meeting room nights through reimagined San Antonio meetings website
• Promote San Antonio’s diverse and inclusive culture and offerings and track their return on investment
• Sales strategies to attract convention/group business amidst current and post-pandemic business climate include:
• Capitalize on emerging crisis recovery with a vertical market focus for short-term opportunities
• Increase high level of industry visibility
• Increase market share for diverse, multi-cultural bookings
• Tourism Development to position San Antonio as a premier destination to the regional domestic and international leisure travel market
• Execute consumer engagement events internationally and domestically in key source markets that will generate demand and online engagement during a need period
• Internationally, staff will focus primarily in Mexico and Canada and will continue to coordinate efforts with the State Tourism Office as well as with Brand USA office
• Continue to work with relationships with online travel agencies and online vacation rental companies with reach in both the United States and Mexico
• Continue to work with the San Antonio Airport to support airline recruitment and retention
• Communications will bring the region’s media attention to San Antonio to inspire people to visit right now.
• SATPID - The SATPID, approved by City Council in December 2018, was created to utilize the assessment fees to drive increased hotel business demand for participating properties through strategic sales and marketing initiatives.
• FY 2021 TPID Assessments are estimated to be $5.48 million
• Briefing will include an update and overview of the integrated sales & marketing efforts of TPID.
ISSUE:
The Business Plan update is for briefing purposes. Additionally, the public hearing and renewal for the SATPID is scheduled for December 10, 2020.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes.