Dear Valued Partners,
Greetings from Washington, DC, where I am attending our Sales Mission and the SA to DC 2025 advocacy event. This week marked a long-awaited milestone for the city of San Antonio—the city’s first direct flight to DCA-Ronald Reagan-Washington International Airport. This historic achievement strengthens the connection between San Antonio and the nation’s capital, fostering greater opportunities for business, tourism, and governmental collaboration. This realization could not have happened without the unwavering dedication and persistence of our local and state government officials, the San Antonio International Airport, Visit San Antonio, greater:SATX and all partners who worked to bring this direct air service to our city.
As we celebrate this milestone, it is also important to reflect on the achievements and memorable moments that shaped the past month. Below are a few highlights from the month of February.
1. Talk about IMPACT: Visit San Antonio, Centro and greater:SATX presented a vision for the vibrancy of Downtown San Antonio and the impactful work accomplished by each of our organizations for the first Impact SA, an economic forum spotlighting how Downtown San Antonio drives the city’s economy. More than 500 people confirmed attendance for this inspiring outlook of Downtown San Antonio. Topics discussed included the power of tourism, hotel development, Project Marvel, UTSA’s expansion and much more. A new era is on the horizon for San Antonio’s urban core, driven by strategic investments, innovative developments and a shared commitment to growth.
2. Bringing Industry Insights: Our Customer Advisory Board (CAB), which consists of meeting planners from across the country, convened in San Antonio from February 12-14, where they explored our vibrant city. Highlights included visiting the newly opened Pullman Market at Pearl and celebrating the 75th anniversary of the San Antonio Rodeo. The CAB appreciated receiving updates regarding Project Marvel from Assistant City Manager Lori Houston and Texas legislation updates from Texas House of Representatives member Josey Garcia – District 124. There were robust conversations on a myriad of topics, including the inevitable impact on operations from recent federal funding cuts to USAID, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, etc. Several CAB members mentioned they are doing scenario planning based on the current flurry of government orders and reductions. In addition to these enriching experiences and conversations, our meetings were highly productive, with CAB members offering invaluable insights into our destination from a meeting planning professional’s perspective.
3. Leveraging International Market Share: Visit San Antonio hosted its first “San Antonio Global Pathways: Your Journey to Success.” The seminar focused on educating and assisting our diverse group of members in working with and building market share from San Antonio’s emerging international visitors. Thank you to the nearly 150 members who joined us and to the many speakers and panelists, including our keynote speaker, Jackie Ennis, with Brand USA.
4. Hearts of the City: As a token of our deep appreciation and to honor visiting groups that positively influence our community, Visit San Antonio shares a special gift crafted by Garcia Art Glass that embodies the spirit of San Antonio—The Heart of the City. Below are three citywide meeting groups gifted with the ‘Heart of the City’ and the economic impact they contributed to our local economy.
Here is the complete outlook of all of February’s meetings and conventions. Please note the figures are preliminary.
5. Visit San Antonio in the Community: This Black History Month, I took a tour of the Kress Building, the future space for the new and reimagined San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum (SAAACAM). Exciting times are ahead for SAAACAM, and I encourage each of you to learn more about the vision being brought to life by Deborah Omowale Jarmon and her team. You can find more information on SAAACAM’s website. We also traveled to Austin to attend the Texas Travel Alliance Executive Committee and Board Meeting as well as the Alliance’s Unity Dinner. While there, we also participated in ‘Rally at the Capital’ to discuss important legislation surrounding the state’s tourism and hospitality sector. Furthermore, the Visit San Antonio and the TPID Boards met for their quarterly meeting in addition to Visit San Antonio Committees Culinary, Cultural, Marketing, Sales and River Walk, as well as the TPID and VSA Finance Committees. Lastly, Visit San Antonio Members, Indoff and Bright Event Rentals, gave February product presentations.
Next weekend, Visit San Antonio will host its first-ever 5K run and walk along the iconic San Antonio River Walk to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Coinciding with spring break, this festive time will welcome visitors from near and far to experience the city’s vibrant atmosphere. As part of the celebration, the San Antonio River Walk will be transformed with its signature green waters. The festivities will also include the crowning of the new River Walk Royalty, adding to the excitement of this cherished tradition. I invite you to be part of this decades-long celebration. You can learn more about St. Patrick’s on the River Walk and around the city on the Visit San Antonio website.
Finally, a round of applause to the Visit San Antonio Marketing team and our agency partners, Rest of the World and Chamoy Creative, for bringing home 17 awards from the San Antonio Advertising Federation. The awards include six Gold Awards, the prestigious Mosaic Award for Diversity Equity and Inclusion, and one Special Judges’ Award for “Day of the Dead” branding. This is a great achievement that encourages our team and shows creative excellence in storytelling about our city.
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.
