San Francisco roadshow held in China
San Francisco Travel held the 2017 China Mission in Shanghai on October 07, 2017. Mayor Edwin Lee joined the event and encouraged more Chinese to visit San Francisco, sister city of Shanghai.
The Mission was jointly hosted by San Francisco Travel Association, United Airlines, and Golden State Warriors, the NBA Champion of 2017. SFTravel partners including DFS, Hornblower Cruises & Events, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) joined the mission to introduce destination San Francisco and their unique products to the Chinese travel trade and media as well as kicking off strong campaigns on Chinese consumer direct channels like WeChat and Weibo. To the surprise and excitement of guests, Golden State Warriors players and cheerleaders also appeared at the event to promote travel to San Francisco.
China is San Francisco’s number one overseas market in terms of number of visitors and spend. In 2016, a total of 417,300 Chinese visited San Francisco, a 9.3%year over year increase, with spending up by 8% at $1.46B USD. In 2017, Chinese visitors are forecasted at 507,890 - an increase of 7.76 % YOY - with total spending projected to increase by 10% at $1.6%B USD.
“San Francisco has a longstanding, special kinship with Shanghai,” said Mayor Edwin M. Lee. “We are very proud to be the first Sister City of Shanghai in the U.S., and our partnership during the past 27 years has produced promising cultural developments and rewarding economic exchanges. We look forward to sharing our city with the people of China as we continue to grow this exceptional bond.”
"We are thrilled to welcome more Chinese visitors to our beautiful City every year”, said Joe D’Alessandro, President & CEO of San Francisco Travel. ”San Francisco offers world famous landmarks such as Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman’s Wharf, a word class culinary scene and a vibrant and open minded community of people. And, with more than 50 nonstop flights every week to SFO from Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Qingdao, and Xian, we are also the perfect gateway to charming California wine country, national parks, and many beautiful towns in northern California and beyond. San Francisco Travel and our partners are very committed to China and we value the partnership. We currently have offices in both Beijing and Shanghai. We want to share our passion for San Francisco with as many Chinese consumers as possible. That’s why we just launched our own WeChat H5 as the first gateway city in the U.S.”
“Every day, we help unite the world by connecting people to the moments that matter most, and there’s nowhere more evident of that than in San Francisco, United’s global gateway to Asia and the Pacific,” said Mark Krolick, Vice President of Marketing at United Airlines. “United is proud to be the leading U.S. carrier to fly to China and we are honored to partner with the City of San Francisco and the Golden State Warriors in this event that brings our communities and cultures closer together.”
San Francisco is simply one of the most beautiful, culturally diverse and exciting cities in the world,” said Golden State Warriors President and COO Rick Welts. “Additionally, It's home to several of the most iconic teams in professional sports, including the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, whom I represent today at this great event in Shanghai. And, we’re doing our part to make San Francisco better and even more of a world-wide destination, as we eagerly await the opening of our spectacular new, state-of-the-art arena, Chase Center, in the Mission Bay neighborhood in two years."
Apart from the event in Shanghai, San Francisco Travel held various events in Shenzhen, Beijing, and Taipei to promote travel to San Francisco.
