The San Francisco Travel Association reported a significant increase in visitors last year, with 21.9 million holidaymakers travelling to the city – up 29% year-on-year.

Visitor spending, meanwhile, more than doubled compared with 2021, totalling $7.4 billion, up from $3.56 billion.

Based on data from Oxford Economics, the top five international markets for visitor volume in 2022 were Mexico, the UK, Canada, India, and Germany and the top five global markets for spending were India, the UK, Mexico, Canada, and Germany.

In 2022, San Francisco welcomed 1.7 million international visitors, a 211% increase year-on-year, driven largely, the association said, by a return of European travellers. 

"The incredible growth in 2022 was fuelled largely by international leisure travellers and our convention business, with the 33 events booked at Moscone Center driving $587 million in convention and meetings spending," said Joe D’Alessandro, San Francisco Travel’s president and chief executive.

Hotel occupancy in 2023 is forecast to reach 70%, up 12.7% from 2022. San Francisco currently has 253 hotels with a room inventory of 36,165.