During March, the Destination Experience Team provided support to 24 groups convening in San Antonio, with a representation of 49,015 attendees accumulating to more than 79,326 total room nights. The Destination Experience Managers coordinated and led 11 planning site visits during the month for groups that will meet in San Antonio between 2019 and 2020. In April, the Destination Experience Team traveled to promote San Antonio at the prior year meeting for the following two groups:

  • Brewers Association – Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America – held in Denver, Colo., April 9-13, 2019 | Definite for San Antonio April 19-22, 2020 | 4,000 Peak | 11,000 Attendance
  • Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) – held in Anaheim, Calif., April 11-14, 2019 | Definite for San Antonio April 28 – May 2, 2020 | 2,700 Peak | 6,000 Attendance

Coming key groups meeting in San Antonio in May:

  • Texas Dental Association
  • HMP Communications
  • Computer Programs & Systems, Inc.
  • American Society of Military Comptrollers
  • Special Olympics of Texas

The Destination Group Sales Division confirmed 89,708 total room nights in March. This production includes the Ulta Beauty’s General Managers Conference for April 2022. This event will bring more than 13,000 room nights for each year. The team also confirmed the American Academy of Optometry for a return of its annual meeting, which will be with us in November 2027 and have more than 7,600 attendees.

In April, we participated in the following customer events:

  • The Large Show Roundtable – During the first week of April, we hosted 15 of the nation’s largest exhibit-show planners in a two-day meeting that showcased our destination, our exhibit show capacities and offered higher-level exhibit education sessions.
  • Customer Advisory Board – During the week of Fiesta, we welcomed back our Customer Advisory Board for several days of insight into national meeting trends, as well as an opportunity to showcase our city to these very important meeting planners.
  • XDP – This will be Visit San Antonio’s third time attending this annual program offered by ASAE. Hosted at the Gaylord National Hotel just outside of Washington, D.C., we spent two days networking with national meetings’ customers.

May is another busy month for the Destination Sales Team:

  • IAEE Women’s Leadership Forum – IAEE’s Women’s Leadership Forum has been designed to focus on topics that are unique to women in the exhibitions and events industry.
  • D.C. Sales Mission – Our annual D.C. Sales Mission will take place the first week of May. We will have group sales calls and several customer lunch and dinner presentations. Fourteen of our area partners will be joining us for this year’s mission.
  • PCMA Visionary Awards – The PCMA Foundation Visionary Awards honor the exceptional stars in the business events industry. More than 1,000 revelers attend this premier industry black-tie recognition event, from the red-carpet reception to the awards show and after-party.
  • Connect NYC – This appointment-based event is a first for Visit San Antonio. We will participate in educational opportunities and conduct prearranged customer appointments.
  • HelmsBriscoe’s Annual Business Conference (ABC) – This annual event enables our staff to spend several days interacting with this third-party business party. We learn of its upcoming strategies as well as promoting our destination to its planners.

To see what other opportunities there are to partner with Visit San Antonio please go to our partners’ website (members.visitsanantonio.com).