Oct 5, 2022 - Business

Dreamforce boosted San Francisco tourism

People walking in the streets of SF in front of banner that says "Dreamforce"

Attendees outside the 2022 Dreamforce conference in SF. Photo: Marlena Sloss/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Dreamforce, Salesforce's takeover of downtown San Francisco, did its part in bringing tourists to the city.

Driving the news: Hotel occupancy in downtown San Francisco was 95.1% for the first two days of the tech conference, according to a report from data analytics firm STR.

  • That same time period in 2019 saw a 96.6% hotel occupancy.

Why it matters: San Francisco remains in pandemic-recovery mode, and the city's downtown area has been the slowest to rebound in the country, per data through May.

By the numbers: Dreamforce brought 40,000 attendees to downtown SF, compared to 170,000 in 2019.

  • SF is expected to host 21.5 million visitors this year, up from 17 million last year, per the San Francisco Travel Association.
  • Tourists are projected to spend $6.7 billion — an 89.3% increase from 2021, but a 30.2% decrease from 2019.

What they're saying: The hotel occupancy data exceeded expectations for Dreamforce, SF Travel president Joe D'Alessandro told the SF Business Times.

  • "It showed that the city can host a major conference like this and that we're back and ready to do it again," he said.

What's next: San Francisco's Moscone Center will hold TechCrunch Disrupt this month, with a projected 10,000 attendees.

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