After years of a post-pandemic slump, San Francisco’s travel association says tourism spending is growing and is expected to keep booming into 2027.
SF Travel released its latest tourism forecast Wednesday, saying there is still work ahead while simultaneously celebrating improvement and the expectation of a third straight year of growing crowds.
“We had a couple of big events, as you know, Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup, things of that nature, but also what really anchored things was the convention calendar,” SF Travel President and CEO Anna Marie Presutti said. “We had more conventions this year than last and we have more conventions next year than this year.”
For 2026, hotel occupancy should run about 70% citywide, which is higher than last year. Next year, the expectation is closer to 72%.
“Domestic travel seems to be up,” Presutti said. “We’re not seeing a great lift out of international yet, so there are some geopolitical things that are going on there that kind of prevent that, but we are seeing it inch up a little bit.”
Next year, 25 million visitors are expected – up from 2026 – and visitor spending is expected to reach over $10 billion.