The second quarter of the fiscal year was packed with positive coverage and non-stop pitching and meetings. At the same time, the team is hard at work wrapping up preparations to welcome the important IPW conference May 20-24 that will include over 500 national and international media.
During Q2, the team completed media missions to New York City, Los Angeles, Canada and the United Kingdom. The UK media mission, in conjunction with the Tourism Development team, San Antonio International Airport and greater:SATX, focused on promoting San Antonio as a new and exciting destination for British travelers, as they return traveling to the U.S. The media mission was very successful in meeting and interviewing with more than 40 media outlets.
Visit San Antonio hosted 17 outer market journalists in the destination during the quarter. Visiting journalists represented: Forbes, Matador Network, Sherman’s Travels, GoNomad, Golf Afficionado, Texas Monthly, The Arizona Republic; Mexico’s Sale el Sol, Los 40, Viajando en Imagen; UK’s The Telegraph, Wanderlust, and the Independent.
Locally, Visit San Antonio promoted the St. Patrick’s Day and Mardi Gras River Parades, the launch of the RFP for a new marketing agency of record contract, the improved performance of the hospitality industry for Spring Break matching or exceeding 2019 levels, and successful multi-organization destination sales mission to the United Kingdom. Additionally, the Communications team launched a monthly lifestyle news segment with KENS-TV’s “Great Day SA” to promote what is happening across the city, encouraging locals to explore their own city.
As the world slowly returns to a semblance of the pre-pandemic times, we aim for San Antonio to remain a destination-of-choice for millions of travelers each year. Please be sure to share what news you have for the remainder of 2023 and beyond with our Media Relations team, as well as any news upcoming for later in the year so we may help amplify your message.
The Communications Department recorded $8,152,457 in outer market earned media value from 283 outer market media placements logged in FY23 Q3, with the values and quantity still affected by the pandemic changes in media and travel. Key coverage recorded for the quarter included MSN, Forbes, Essence, Axios, Travel + Leisure, Southern Living, Passport, TimeOut, Travel Awaits, PureWow, The Star-Telegram, The Miami Herald, The Arizona Republic, AZ Central; Mexico’s Sopitas, Sale El Sol, Alan x el Mundo, Roger Gonzalez (@Rogergzz), Vive USA, Juan Solo (@SoyJuanSolo), Viajeros TV, Publimetro, Itinerario Turistico; Canada’s Yahoo Sports Canada, Zoomer Magazine, EverthingZoomer.com; the UK’s The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Independent, Wanderlust, Kelly Brook (@IAMKB); and France’s Le Parisien.