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Conventions are big business in San Diego and vital to the city’s economy. While the entire convention industry continued to regain its footing to pre-recession levels, in San Diego, hosting mega-events like Comic-Con International and the Society for Neuroscience pushed the total economic impact of events to just over $1.4 billion. This is a 17.4 percent increase above FY09, 12.4 percent above FY10 and our third highest achieving year in this category since opening in 1989. For more than two decades, the Convention Center has served as one of our region’s strongest economic engines, and going forward, it remains central to keeping our visitor industry strong.
Economic impact measures the value conventions have on the local economy including direct, indirect and induced spending. Direct attendee spending is the money convention attendees spend at hotels, restaurants, stores and attractions. Indirect spending is the positive cycle businesses create to supply and re-supply goods and services to support events and employee wages. Induced spending happens when workers whose jobs are tied to events spend their paychecks locally, thus stimulating the economy.
