SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - The San Diego Tourism Authority (SDTA) has launched a $19 million international ad campaign aimed at bringing more visitors to San Diego.
The new multi-platform “Something to Smile About” campaign highlights why San Diego is the place to be year-round for families and singles.
“We’re advertising in eight different countries to international destinations,” said SDTA President Joe Terzi. “From our standpoint, it’s more about getting San Diego recognized.”
The television commercials and digital ads feature surfing, hiking, biking, and several attractions from around San Diego.
The advertisements are expected to reach people from across the U.S., Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom this month, when potential visitors are making travel plans for the year ahead.
Terzi said early numbers from 2018 show San Diego attracted 35.8 million visitors who spent more than $11 billion at local attractions, shops and restaurants. He said that resulted in a total economic impact of $18.6 billion.
“We’re excited about this next year,” said Terzi. “We know there’s some challenges we all have. It’s pretty obvious there’s some things going on around our country that are pretty concerning to a lot of people. We just hope that those things get resolved and have less of an impact on our industry because San Diego is fueled by tourism and we don’t want that to stop.”
