Thursday's Visitor Centers Update

The Permanently Closed San Francisco Visitor Informaon Center

This just in...

How can many major cities in the United States have a tourist information center, but not San Francisco, the fifth most popular destination in the United States according to Condé Nast? 

I reached out to Mayor Daniel Lurie's office and left a message as to how the one sole lone place on the internet, where all other links lead you too, for all things San Francisco travel (It's in the name SFTravel, for crying out loud), yet there is no way to contact them.  By phone, email, or online.  Too their credit, they returned my call the same day.   

The representative informed me that he reached out to SFTravel, San Francisco's official Convention and Vistiror Bureau, and they referred him to the California Welcome Center at Pier 39.  They informed him that any communications for SFTravel, should be directed there.

A quick note about the California Welcome Centers.   They are Awesome!  

When you walk into one, you will find mostly information about the state, with a small brochure rack featuring some attractions in the local area to the side.  The staff manning the desks are usually from the general vicinity, but that doesn't make them experts on their own community.  There are 22 of them sprinkled throughout the state, and they are a great resource but their primary mission is to promote attractions in the state.

I took the liberty of contacting our San Francisco California Welcome Center, and the guy on the phone confirmed what I already knew: They are there to promote tourism in greater California.  And as I suspected, he said they will always try to assist with San Francisco-related questions.

With that, I contacted the mayor's office again with one simple question:  If a first-time visitor is interested in coming to San Francisco, they go to SFTravel and find no mechanism to ask a question or inquire about information not found on the website, how do they get an answer?

Once again, and to their credit, the mayor's office got back to me right away.  And to my good fortune, the same guy who returned my first call was also the one who reached out to me that day.  I thanked him for explaining how SFTravel is now referring inquiries, directed toward them, to the California Welcome Center. 

I shared, "I believe SFTravel and I have the same goals: encourage visitors to discover and explore the wonders San Francisco has to offer.  The difference is that there is a way to contact me, SFTravel, not so much."

When I explained to the mayor's rep that people often have unusual methods deciding where to go on vacation, and it is not beyond the realm of reason that by not having any way to contact the city they are interested in spending their tourist dollars in. It may encourage that potential tourist to look at another city's webpage, find that they can call or email questions, and decide to go there instead.

I asked him, "What does a potential (or even a frequent) visitor do if they can't ask questions, don't know they have to contact California Welcome Center, and don't know me or another concierge to provide the answers they seek?"   

The mayor's rep fell silent for what I can best describe as a pregnant pause, and eventually said, "I don't know.  I'll have to run it by SFTravel and see what they say."

If you like this article, please hit like and follow us. You can also follow us at www.sfhotelstories.com

SFHotelStories.com is looking for contributors: writers, videographers, and photographers. Contact us at SFHotelStories@gmail.com, Subject: Contributors.