By: Tawny Davis | From: FoxSA

SAN ANTONIO - Tuesday was the launch of “Impact SA” from collaborators Centro San Antonio, Greater SATX and Visit San Antonio. The goal? To showcase how downtown San Antonio has helped to boost the local economy.

Formerly known as 'State of Downtown,' guests of the event were able to hear about some of the leading data and learn from economic experts. They explored key metrics, visitor analytics and actionable insights that directly impact local businesses.

“Post COVID, there really has been a rehabilitation effort regarding downtown. So we look at what were doing in the housing space, what were doing in the homeless space, but also what big, bold visions like Project Marvel and a baseball stadium mean to downtown,” explained Trish DeBerry, President/CEO Centro San Antonio.

Impact SA is dedicated to highlighting the role downtown plays in driving economic growth and enhancing the city's appeal for both residents and visitors. Attendees heard from key leaders about what progress has been made for the area and how businesses and people are benefiting from it. This includes eight hotels and over 100 restaurants that have opened their doors in downtown San Antonio.

"Currently were at more than 150,000 hospitality jobs, so nearly one in seven of our San Antonians are employed in hospitality and tourism, and its one of our top four most important segments in our economy, " said Marc Anderson, President/CEO Visit San Antonio.

All this progress, in turn, has put San Antonio on the map and has been named alongside cities like Hong Kong and Lisbon as top places to visit in the world, according to Visit San Antonio. This continues to draw even more attention and even more recognition to the city.

"From our perspective, tourism is driving opportunities for business leaders and for people to understand and see what it might be like to live and work in San Antonio. So we're introducing San Antonio to the world when visitors come, but were also helping to tell that longer term growth story for our region," said Sarah Carabias-Rush, Chief Economic Development Officer Greater SATX.

While the event was meant to show the progress downtown San Antonio has done, leaders say they are looking forward to what comes next.