Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1459281
B M & T ••• March/April 2022 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 14 JULIE COKER, PRESIDENT/CEO, SAN DIEGO TOURISM AUTHORITY Like every other destination, COVID-19 had a devastating impact on our tourism industry. At the peak of the pan- demic, some 70,000 tourism and hospitality workers lost their jobs. Visitor spending tumbled more than 55 percent from $11.6 billion in 2019 to $5.2 billion 2020. In fact, San Diego lost almost 20 years of economic gains in visitor spending, jobs and tax revenues. Tourism Economics, a research firm, forecasts that it could take San Diego tourism almost five years to recover to its 2019 economic performance levels. Nimble was the name of the game for the San Diego Tourism Authority (SDTA). We were able to respond quickly and strategically to changing market conditions with a variety of innovative advertising campaigns, including our "Stay Diego" initiative, which asked locals to staycation before they took a vacation, and our "Yay Weekyays!" cam- paign, which aimed to increase Sunday through Wednesday hotel stays. The Tourism Authority also was able to begin marketing on July 6, 2020, which was far sooner than many other destinations because it had the financial wherewithal oth- ers did not thanks to the support of the San Diego Tourism Marketing District and its reserves. That investment helped drive demand during the fall of 2020 before California clamped down on travel in December 2020 due to rising COVID-19 cases. When the state unexpectedly re-opened on Jan. 25, 2021, the SDTA re-launched its marketing program within a week. The ability to move swiftly boosted San Diego's per- formance, helping the destination become one of the top performers in the country starting in late May of 2021 and throughout the summer. Early on, the Tourism Authority in partnership with the San Diego Convention Center really pushed at the state and local level to show that meetings could be restarted responsibly by hosting elected leaders and public health officials to demonstrate how safety protocols could be successfully implemented. We also launched a Safe Destination Pledge to let meeting planners and attendees know how our hotels and hospitality businesses were working to their health and well-being during every phase of their visit. It also helps that San Diego has an extremely high local vaccination rate, which is something that meeting planners are looking for when booking business. Finally, the SDTA is investing in a $400,000 multi-channel marketing initiative designed to drive awareness and demand for San Diego among meeting planners, executives and decisions makers. While the campaign includes a variety of channels and tactics, including custom content articles and dedicated emails, the digital component, which launched in July 2021, has dramatically over-delivered, achieving year-long goals for traffic and impressions in just the first two months of the program. Throughout the pandemic, the Tourism Authority worked closely with our county public health officials and elected leaders to ensure that our industry was implementing best-in-class safety protocols. As I mentioned, we also created our Safe Destination Pledge to let visitors know all the steps we were taking to ensure their health and well-being. We know both attendees and meeting planners are clamoring for more outdoor events and networking opportunities, and San Diego is uniquely able to provide those types of experiences. Not only does our destination have near-perfect weather year-round, but it is also home to a variety of eye-catching and unique venues that overlook the beaches, the bays and beyond, including Downtown San Diego's dramatic cityscape. It's also just a great place to visit with something for every type of traveler.