SAN FRANCISCO -- Even as the nation's economy sputtered and consumer confidence waned, more than 16 million people visited San Francisco last year and spent $8.2 billion, both all-time highs for tourism in the city.A key factor was an anemic U.S. dollar. Foreign tourists came in record numbers -- about 2.3 million of them, a 9.5 percent increase over 2006, according to figures released this week by the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau."Tourism continues to be San Francisco's most vital industry," said Joe D'Alessandro, the bureau's president and chief executive officer.However, D'Alessandro said, there are potentially serious obstacles to San Francisco keeping its share of tourist dollars. The biggest might be complacency in city government and the tourism industry, he said. For instance, the lack of hot water in some bathrooms in the deteriorating Moscone Center and aggressive panhandlers on the streets could deter visitors and send them to other cities, he said."Frankly, I think a lot of people think tourism is always going to be there," D'Alessandro said in an interview. "That is not how it works. Our big focus is to make sure San Francisco never takes it for granted. Just ask cities that took tourism for granted, lost it, and they're looking back and asking what happened. That could happen here."Still, the weak dollar is making the United States a bargain for foreign travelers. At San Francisco's Handlery Union Square Hotel, general manager Jon Handlery said that 65 percent of the guests at the 377-room hotel are leisure travelers, and in 2007 approximately 85 percent of them were international visitors."I anticipate this year to continue to be strong with overseas visitors," Handlery said. "I don't see our dollar getting strong."Even now, the hotel occupancy rate is 83 percent. "We are pleased," he said.Conventions were particularly strong in 2007. There were 755,898 room nights booked by people attending conventions at Moscone Center, and the number will be far greater than that this year, the bureau said.According to PKF Consulting, hotel occupancy last year was 79 percent, up from 76.4 percent in 2006. The average daily rate for rooms was $181.22, an 8 percent increase over 2006.Remarkably, 79 percent is approximately 15 percentage points above the national average, said Thomas Callahan, co-president and chief executive officer of PKF, a hotel and resort consulting firm in San Francisco.With that high an occupancy rate, Callahan said, there is virtually no more room for visitors. "There's no place to stay," he said, adding that the 550-room InterContinental San Francisco, which opened in February, will be the last large hotel to be built for many years. That is because of prohibitively high construction and land costs, he said. "The income they generate does not support new development," Callahan said.E-mail George Raine at graine(at)sfchronicle.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com
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