Summer over, but tourism in San Francisco is not
Workday Rising conference in San Francisco
Workday Rising conference in San Francisco hopes to boost tourism numbers.
SAN FRANCISCO - Summer is over but tourism in California and San Francisco is not.
One of the driving factors this year is large events like the Workday Rising conference at the Moscone Center, which kicks off Monday and goes through Sept. 18.
Workday said they are expecting 30,000 attendees from 76 countries.
KTVU spoke with multiple attendees.
Steven Cromie is visiting the city for the first time from Memphis, Tennessee and said, "it's lovely and much different than I expected."
Last year, Workday hosted the conference in Las Vegas.
But some long-time attendees like Josh Zywien with Paradox, prefer the Bay Area.
"I'm sick of going to Vegas. I go to Vegas too much for work and here it feels different and fresh," said Zywien.
Pete Maxwell with Mercer has attended the conference for years, including the event in San Francisco in 2023 and in Las Vegas in 2024.
"Compared to the last time we were here (San Francisco) it looks like it’s been cleaned up a lot. We were here two years ago. It looks like the city has done a good job," said Maxwell.
The return of the event a welcome boost to the tourism industry that has been largely dependent on big events and business travel in 2025.
San Francisco Travel reported that the Moscone Center will host 34 events, that translates to 657,000 hotel room night stays, a 64% increase over 2024.
The average rate for a room right now $232 and occupancy is at 65%.
In 2025, with visitor volume projected to reach 23.49 million and spending forecasted at $9.35 billion.
The international visitor numbers are still down, so the focus is on domestic travel, like the NBA All-Star Game and the Dead and Company Concert.
The San Francisco Mayor's Office reported that the All-Star Weekend netted them $328 million.
San Francisco International Airport is reporting domestic travel is up by more than 10%from May through August.
Domestic travel is expected to increase 2% and their spending by 5%.
After the Workday convention, the Laver Cup international tennis tournament is happening this weekend at the Chase Center, which is expected to be another economic driver for the city.