Tourism is San Francisco’s most important industry according
to resident survey
August 14, 2012 Residents of San Francisco named tourism the
City’s most important industry in a survey
released today by the San Francisco Travel Association.
The study found that San Franciscans were almost unanimous
in understanding the economic importance of tourism 98% responding that tourism
is very important or important to the vitality of the City’s economy.
Additionally, when directly asked if they believe tourism is The City’s most
important industry, almost 70% agreed or strongly agreed.
Based on these independent findings, it is deeply gratifying
to see that the vast majority of San Francisco residents appreciate the
important role tourism plays in the economic vitality of our city? reflected
Joe D’Alessandro, President and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association.
The survey also found residents consider tourism important
to the financial health of San Francisco’s city government with nearly all of
the respondents ( 94%) agreeing that tourism has a strongly positive or
positive impact on the San Francisco city budget. When asked about paying
for City services like police, schools, road repairs and firefighters, 91% “strongly
agreed” or “agreed” that tourism plays an important role. Only 3% felt tourism
has a negative impact on city finances.
“As a member of the travel and tourism sector, it is
extremely rewarding to learn that our fellow San Franciscans value the benefits
tourism provides in terms of city services,” said David Nadelman, Chairman of San
Francisco Travel Association’s Board of Directors. “It was also exciting to
discover that residents appreciate the benefits residents enjoy in their
everyday lives as a result of tourism.”
Nadelman was referring to a finding that 78% of respondents
agree that “tourism makes San Francisco a better place to live.” The
study also found 80% of residents agree there is a healthy balance of tourism
and resident activity in the City. This may explain why most respondents
believe their elected officials should support public policies that promote
tourism with 76% saying they would be more likely to vote for a Mayor whose
policies support tourism and 81% agreeing that “it is important for their
district supervisor to support tourism.”
The survey was conducted by San Francisco-based Destination
Analysts in early July 2012. A total of 400 adult San Francisco residents
were interviewed by telephone. The survey included open-ended and close-ended
questions gathering resident opinions on tourism-related topics and was
commissioned by the San Francisco Travel Association.
The San Francisco Travel Association is a private,
not-for-profit organization that markets the city as a leisure, convention and
business travel destination. With more than 1,500 partner businesses, San
Francisco Travel is one of the largest membership-based tourism promotion
agencies in the country. Tourism, San Francisco's largest industry, generates
in excess of $8.4 billion annually for the local economy and supports over
71,000 jobs.
The San Francisco Travel business offices are located at 201
Third St., Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103. San Francisco Travel also
operates the Visitor Information Center at Hallidie Plaza, 900 Market Street at
the corner of Powell and Market streets. For more information, call
415-974-6900 or visit www.sanfrancisco.travel.
The San Francisco Resident Survey is available at http://media.sanfrancisco.travel/documents/RESIDENT+SURVEY+-+EXEC+SUMMARY.pdf
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