The San Francisco Travel Association has launched a $6 million marketing campaign.
The "Always San Francisco" campaign features iconic locations such as the Golden Gate Bridge, vibrant neighborhoods like Chinatown and the city's diverse array of visitor experiences.
The campaign video include cameos by locals such as Lady Camden of RuPaul's Drag Race fame, artist Sirron Norris, dancers from the AXIS Dance Company, musicians Mae Powell and Michael O'Konis, Chinatown lion dancers and chefs from Michelin-starred Angler.
San Francisco Travel collaborated with local and San Francisco-connected musicians to reimagine Judy Garland's rendition of the classic "San Francisco" for its campaign video and recorded at Hyde Street Studios, which has produced recordings for rock icons such as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Santana.
The campaign targets leisure travelers and meeting planners in major domestic and key international markets and is the organization's first campaign to include television advertising.
"This is the largest campaign San Francisco Travel has ever launched due to the incredible support from the city and county of San Francisco, Visit California and other stakeholders," said Joe D'Alessandro CEO and president of San Francisco Travel. "Tourism is vital to the city's economic recovery, and 'Always San Francisco' is designed to drive increased visitation by showing the authentic San Francisco experience people love and dream about."
The 'Always San Francisco' domestic campaign runs through Oct. 22 and will appear in high-impact media, such as traditional TV, in New York City, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Houston. Internationally, digital marketing campaigns will run in Australia, India, Asia Pacific, Europe, Canada, and Mexico.
San Francisco Travel has forecasted 23.9 million visitor arrivals this year and visitor spending of $8.9 billion, an increase of $1 billion compared to 2022.
San Francisco said the city drew 21.9 million visitors in 2022, a 29% increase over the prior year but still 16% down from 2019, when a record 26.2 million visitors arrived. Convention business has been slow to return.