Anna Marie Presutti has been named as the new president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association, becoming the first female to lead the organization. She took over on an interim basis after the resignation of Scott Beck, who left after only seven months in the role. Presutti aims to bring back large-scale events and conferences to the city by investing in marketing San Francisco’s strengths, such as its culinary scene and arts and culture, and collaborating with other organizations. She acknowledges that the city’s meetings and conference business has struggled to fully recover since the pandemic due to the slow return of business travel and the rise of remote and hybrid work, which has impacted foot traffic downtown.
Despite the challenges faced by the San Francisco conference industry, there have been some signs of improvement. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently announced that the mega-conference Dreamforce will stay in San Francisco for three more years. Additionally, the city has seen an increase in occupancy rates, particularly attributed to its rise as an AI tech epicenter. San Francisco recently hosted an AI conference organized by Databricks, which boosted the hotel occupancy rate to 79% for a week in June, making it the top hotel market for that week. The city has also been taking steps to address safety concerns downtown, with reports indicating a decrease in crime and open-air drug markets.
In 2023, San Francisco welcomed 23.1 million visitors, marking a 5.2% increase from the previous year. Total visitor-related spending, including meeting planner and exhibitor spending, rose by 20% to $9.3 billion. Tourism accounted for $9.3 billion in total visitor spending, generating nearly $610 million in tax revenues for the city. Presutti joins other women CEOs who lead destination marketing organizations, including Martha Sheridan of Meet Boston, Kristen Adamo of Providence Warwick CVB, Casandra Matej of Visit Orlando, and more. These women are making strides in the tourism industry by taking on leadership roles in various CVBs across the country.
Presutti has expressed her commitment to returning San Francisco’s convention business to a healthy level by leveraging the city’s unique strengths and assets. She recognizes that the road to recovery may be a long one, with projections indicating that the city’s conference business may not fully bounce back until 2028 or 2029. As San Francisco continues to navigate the challenges brought on by the pandemic and shifts in the business landscape, Presutti’s leadership will be instrumental in driving the city’s meetings and events industry towards a brighter future. By collaborating with other organizations and promoting the city’s distinctive offerings, she hopes to attract more world-class events and conferences to San Francisco, ultimately revitalizing the city’s position as a premier destination for business travelers.
