Dear Valued Partners,
There is no better way to close out Q2 FY 2025 than by showcasing the best of San Antonio to the entire country. This past weekend was a tremendous success as San Antonio hosted its fifth NCAA Men’s Final Four. Our city shined as we proved once again that San Antonio is a city of hospitality. Over the Final Four weekend, Visit San Antonio welcomed 15 citywide customers on a familiarization trip to experience the city at its best during a mega-event. The Men’s Final Four was not the only sporting event taking place. San Antonio also hosted the nation’s first HBCU Women’s All-Star Basketball Game, the Fourth Annual Men’s HBCU All-Star Basketball Game and the Valero Texas Open. These four national events further solidify that San Antonio is a city for sports enthusiasts. We consistently uphold this commitment through our partnerships and collaboration, working together to increase economic impact. Next up is the Women’s Final Four in 2029. We look forward to raising the bar and securing even more national events for our local economy, small businesses, hotels and community.
Visit San Antonio welcomed a new River Walk Royalty in March during the 56th Annual St. Patrick’s Day River Dyeing and Parades. The 2025 Royal Court made history by raising over $100,000 for the San Antonio Hospitality Foundation—the most funds ever raised since its establishment. A huge congratulations goes out to the new court:
King Samuel Hernandez
Queen Karsen Maldonado
Prince Julian Tovar
Princess Melissa Gonzales
Duke David Martinez Jr.
Duchess Annette Champion Flores
Countess Kristy Ward
Viscountess Millisa Picazo
Approximately 56,000 visitors attended the River Walk St. Patrick’s Day festivities, which featured our inaugural 5K run. Over 120,000 visitors experienced the River Walk throughout the St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The Visit San Antonio River Walk Events, Marketing and Communications teams did an excellent job coordinating and promoting all St. Patrick’s Day events.
Here are some additional highlights from March.
1. Marketing Pivots and More: Our team at Visit San Antonio is nimble and accustomed to pivoting marketing, public relations, and sales strategies and initiatives that have the most impact on you, our stakeholders. The last 80+ days have been no different. The domestic and global travel landscape changes have shifted, evolved, and then shifted again—it has been almost dizzying for Visit San Antonio, our peer organizations across the United States, and all of you.
To stay as proactive as possible in response to these changes, our leadership team first met to discuss and strategize the necessary adjustments in our marketing approach and spending. We then engaged with the Visit San Antonio Executive Committee, TPID Board of Directors and Marketing Committee to discuss pivot strategies that will strengthen San Antonio as we head into summer. Some high-level, bold actions we have adopted include:
- Realigning relevant messages by “persona” and hotel preferences to more effectively target the right audiences.
- Increasing our Expedia investment, aimed at driving an additional 100,000 room nights into the market this summer.
- Expanding our reach by targeting a lower household income segment within the region, significantly growing our audience and increasing demand.
- Streamlining the number of personas, focusing on “cost per acquisition,” so we can be more efficient with proven traveler segments.
- Leveraging the NCAA’s attendance to retarget 100K attendees, offering them “up to 50% off” and “stay 2, get the 3rd night free” at participating hotels for summer stays.
- Launching expanded PR media campaigns, including a magnified media blitz in our core regional market to promote spring travel and the final planning for producing the world’s largest “paleta” in San Antonio—generating fun media coverage and social media buzz for summer travel to our city.
Most importantly, we have launched the “The Many Summer Vibes of San Antonio” campaign! This exciting new summer initiative, AT NO COST to VSA members, provides a priceless opportunity to tap into a $3.85 million promotional effort. This means your business can gain exposure to millions of potential travelers. If you have not yet joined us, do not miss out—click this link to submit your offers and experiences today!
2. Mexico Sales & Media Mission: Visit San Antonio strengthened its relationship with Mexico after a four-day sales and media mission to the country, where San Antonio continues to be the top travel destination in the U.S. Visit San Antonio team members and partners met with more than 100 tour operators, airline partners, travel agents, media and social media influencers, who were intrigued by the growth and evolution of our city. Twelve celebrities and social media influencers with a combined following of 5.2 million people will visit San Antonio to produce coverage this summer. We look forward to growing this market and continuing to showcase San Antonio as a vibrant, must-visit destination for travelers from Mexico and beyond. Thank you to our partners who joined this important mission, making it a successful event: Kimpton Santo and Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa, Autograph Collection, The Gunter San Antonio Riverwalk, San Antonio Marathon, Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa, SiDECARS of San Antonio, San Marcos Premium Outlets, DoubleTree by Hilton San Antonio Airport, San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter on the River Walk, La Quinta Inn & Suites San Antonio Airport and the San Antonio International Airport.
3. Hearts of the City: Destination Experience extended Hearts of the City to three meeting groups in March, including ExhibitorLive, which hosted its first conference and trade show in San Antonio. ExhibitorLive is the premier conference and trade show for event marketing professionals. San Antonio provided the perfect backdrop for attendees to draw inspiration and drive transformative results for future marketing initiatives. Here are the groups that received Hearts of the City in March and their impact on our local economy.
Here is the complete outlook of meetings and conventions for March and Q2.
4. Visit San Antonio in the Community: Visit San Antonio in the Community: We welcomed the James Beard Foundation 4th Annual Taste of America: San Antonio Presented by Capital One at Hotel Emma. The featured chefs were Geronimo Lopez of Hotel Emma at Pearl and Nicola Blaque of The Jerk Shack. This duo served a fantastic menu showcasing their unique styles. Visit San Antonio Committees also met for their March meetings. They include the Cultural, Sales, River Walk, TPID and VSA Finance Committees. Lastly, March product presentations were given by three Visit San Antonio Members: Hyatt Place, St. Paul Square and Enchanted Springs Ranch.
5. Washington DC Sales Mission: Another DC Sales mission is in the books, highlighting San Antonio’s arts and culture and cuisine. This trip was extra special as we traveled on the first-ever direct flight from San Antonio to the nation’s capital’s central airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Hotel partners joined us on this mission as well, which included the following: InterContinental San Antonio River Walk, San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter on the River Walk and Marriott Riverwalk and the Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk and Hyatt Regency San Antonio River Walk.
San Antonio’s Poet Laureate, Eddie Vega, also joined the mission to share his powerful words and unique voice, captivating audiences and offering a vibrant, authentic representation of our city’s creative spirit. The Visit San Antonio team conducted 19 sales calls to both corporate and association groups, resulting in leads from big names, including the American Public Transportation Association Annual International Bus Roadeo, whose last San Antonio booking was canceled due to COVID-19, and Fanatics Events, which will help us further penetrate future sports entertainment opportunities.
6. Q2 Organizational Goals: The end of Q2 marks the midpoint of FY25 with many more great events and festivals on the horizon.
Speaking of festivals, FIESTA is right around the corner, and we are preparing for two official FIESTA events taking place right on the River Walk. The Texas Cavaliers River Parade will celebrate on Monday, April 28. We also have the Ford Mariachi Festival on Wednesday, April 30, and Thursday, May 1. Both events feature decorated barges and entertainment for the entire family to enjoy.
Should you have any questions or comments on this monthly update or Visit San Antonio, please do not hesitate to contact me at (210) 244-2111 or marc@visitsanantonio.com.
