Meetings & Conventions
Despite being a highly desirable meeting destination, San Diego lags behind many of its competitors in all categories of functional space. Meetings and convention business represent 6% of total tourism but these tourists comprise 27% of all visitor expenditure: more than $1.5 billion a year. With the San Diego Convention Center at capacity, expansion focus must include highlighting small- to mid-sized spaces throughout the City along with a plan to expand the convention center.
Grow meetings & convention business
Hotel and Meeting Spaces
The San Diego Brand
In a world of too many product choices, it is critical to create brands that are memorable and relevant. A strong brand resonates with buyers on an emotional level and creates greater demand. Great brands attract buzz and marketing alliances, making limited dollars work harder in the marketplace. For San Diego, our destination brand is our greatest marketing asset.
In 2014, the SDTA embarked on global brand research. Five thousand past and prospective travelers from seven countries (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany and China) were surveyed about San Diego attitudes, perceptions, barriers, product offerings and messaging. The findings reinforced years of prior learning about the San Diego brand.
San Diego Convention Center
The city should maximize the addition of exhibition, ballroom, and meeting space within the parameters of the Coastal Commission’s approval of the previous expansion plan. This expansion allows SDCC to attract approximately 50 more annual events translating to 380,000 new room nights and 1.1 million attendees. The proposed expansion would increase room revenue in the hotel market by $123 million.
HVS Convention Center Expansion Analysis