The San Diego Tourism Authority announced Wednesday that it booked 57 future conventions during the fiscal year that ended June 30, which will result in more than 1 million hotel room nights through 2033.
The results are the best for a single year in a decade, according to the authority The agency handles sales of major trade shows that are booked far in advance. The gatherings scheduled over the past year will take place beginning as soon as 2016.
The San Diego Convention Center Corp. staff takes care of smaller events, which usually schedule their times within about 18 months. "This was a fantastic effort on the part of the Tourism Authority's convention center sales team," said Chairman Scott Hermes.
"Even though our convention center has limited space, we are doing everything possible to maximize it, and to generate hotel tax revenue for the city's general fund, which helps pay for essential city services such as police, fire, street repairs, parks and recreation services," Hermes said.
The authority estimated that the conventions that were booked during the last fiscal year will generate around $30 million in hotel tax revenue and pump $1.9 billion into the economy.