The picture for 2003 may not be as sunny. Officials say the city's convention business is in for an off year. However, they look for continued gains in the tourism market.
Following are the numbers for 2002 through July compared to the same period in 2001: occupancy level was up 1.2%; average daily rate was up 1.3%; RevPAR was up 2.5%; room revenue was up 4.4%; and room nights sold were up 1.3%. Those numbers rank San Antonio either No. 2 or No. 3 among the top 30 US markets for the year, according to David Cooksey, the management analyst with the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau.
This year's performance is even better than that of 2000, Cooksey tells GlobeSt.com. "So it's not a matter of we're just up because last year was a bad year," he says. "In fact, we're continuing in that trend. We had thought that, if not for the events of 9/11, this year would have been a very good up year."
Officials credit the quick recovery to quick action taken late last year to boost tourism advertising. The San Antonio City Council, at the request of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, OK'd and extra $2 million for a post-Sept. 11 marketing campaign. It marketed San Antonio as a drive-to destination to residents of Texas' nearby states.
"Prompt action on the part of the city and the hospitality community really helped us to become one of the fastest-recovering cities from a tourism standpoint in the nation," says Henry Feldman, president of the San Antonio Hotel-Motel Association. He's also the general manager of the La Mansion del Rio Hotel.
As for next year, Cooksey and Feldman say convention center business will be down. They blame it on the lingering effects of Sept. 11 on business travel and the fact that the city's convention center is new. Meeting planners didn't have a chance to actually see the place while it was under construction.
Feldman says that could be a good thing for meeting planners looking for deals. "There are real opportunities for clients to come in and get some real value in San Antonio in '03 and '04," he says.
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