Dear Valued Partners,

I cannot believe we are already in the second month of the New Year. Since the start of Fiscal Year 2025, we have hit the ground running with tremendous energy and enthusiasm as we embarked on a new five-year strategic plan, Journey to Excellence 2030.  

Visit San Antonio has worked diligently to set the stage for another successful year, and I am excited to share key highlights from January that have already positioned San Antonio on the path to excellence, as well as upcoming events.

1. The Power of Downtown San Antonio: As a reminder, please register to attend Impact SA. Centro San Antonio, greater:SATX and Visit San Antonio are coordinating engaging presentations and a powerful panel discussion focusing on the power of Downtown San Antonio. The panelists include April Bailey, Central Texas Region President at Amegy Bank; Chad Carey, Principal at Empty Stomach; Ellen Davis, Executive Vice President at U.S. Travel Association; and Joe Minicozzi, Principal at Urban3. To learn more about Impact SA and register, please visit HERE.

2. Colombia Media & Trade Mission: As part of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Trade Mission to Colombia, Visit San Antonio hosted its first-ever media and sales mission in Bogotá, Colombia, providing a pivotal platform to position San Antonio as the new must-visit destination for Colombian travelers. The team accommodated 12 tier-one media outlets for interviews, including a live feature on Citytv, El Tiempo, El Espectador, and Publimetro, among others. The initiative reached over 11.23 million potential visitors. Tour operator appointments and strategic meetings included nine top travel trade partners, such as Aviatours, Despegar, and United Airlines. These efforts laid the groundwork for increasing awareness, market exposure, as well as dynamic product development.

3. Attending PCMA: Visit San Antonio had an incredible experience at PCMA Convening Leaders 2025, in Houston, Texas. We engaged with over 500 customers with our custom design your own scent activation and life-size flower garden in partnership with Visit San Antonio members Mission Crafts Chandlery and ACCESS DMC. This is just one more of the many ways our Sales team is constantly recruiting meetings leads that will provide economic growth for our city! 

4. A Seat at the Table: I was honored to receive notification in January of my appointment to the United States Department of Commerce’s Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB) by outgoing U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. This is the first time a member of our community has been appointed to this global advisory board. It provides Visit San Antonio and the city as a whole with a valuable opportunity to have a voice at the table in shaping federal policies that impact our nation’s trillion-dollar travel and tourism industry, as well as our local industry. I look forward to working alongside the new U.S. Secretary of Commerce and my fellow TTAB members on this important board.

5. Visit San Antonio in the Community: In January, Visit San Antonio has been busy engaging with the community, supporting and, promoting various events, including SAAACAM 2025 Legacy Awards Ball, DreamWeek 2025, DreamWeek 2025 San Antonio Dream Ball, the 38th Martin Luther King Jr. March and Celebration; as well as attending several events in Austin to celebrate the start of 89th Texas Legislative Session. Additionally, our Visit San Antonio Committees, including the Cultural, Sales, River Walk, and TPID and VSA Finance Committees, met. We were also proud to attend product presentations with featured members, The Newstand, FlorVino Flower Winery, and Rita's Test Kitchen.

Our ‘Journey Together’ is Visit San Antonio and the San Antonio community continuing to make a positive difference for our city—increasing visitation that creates jobs, supports local businesses, and brings in more hotel occupancy tax and sales tax. A quick proof of Visit San Antonio’s hard work is in the progress toward meeting and exceeding our organizational goals, which are summarized below.

Should you have any questions or comments on this monthly update or Visit San Antonio, please do not hesitate to contact me at (210) 244-2111 or marc@visitsanantonio.com.