Now in its fifth year at San Diego’s Mariner’s Point Park, the annual reggae music festival leans heavily into its San Diego setting.
Continue readingWhat Mission Bayfest Learned About Turning an Event Into a San Diego Getaway
The ROI of Sports Tourism in San Diego
Sports tourism San Diego programs help drive hotel demand, visitor spending and measurable ROI through SDTMD-funded marketing investments.
Continue readingHow SDTMD Drives Sports Tourism ROI
SDTMD’s partnership with the San Diego Open shows how sports tourism can generate winter hotel demand and measurable ROI for the San Diego region.
Continue readingHoliday Bowl San Diego Drives Tourism Impact
The Holiday Bowl continues to deliver major hotel demand, national visibility and economic impact for San Diego. This SDTMD-supported legacy event fills a key winter tourism gap while generating millions in room revenue.
Continue readingTourism Marketing in Action: November Events Boost San Diego Hotel Performance
This November, SDTMD-funded events are doing more than entertaining. They’re generating room nights for San Diego hotels during one of the year’s slower travel periods. SDTMD’s tourism marketing investments, by helping attract visitors to the city, also support tourism’s broad economic impact in San Diego. In short, these activities enable our tourism improvement district to turn quiet weekends into measurable gains for both hotels and the broader regional economy.
How SDTMD Funding for November Events Supports Off-Season Hotel Demand
In November 2025, SDTMD provided $800,000 in grant funding to events that generate demand for overnight stays at San Diego hotels during off-peak periods.
Each of these events attracts out-of-market visitors including leisure travelers and sports fans. That translates into room nights, weekend stays and region-wide economic benefit.
San Diego Wine & Food Festival (Nov. 7–9)
SDTMD Grant Funding: $74,500
The San Diego Wine & Food Festival draws culinary tourists and builds San Diego’s reputation as a destination for fine food and wine seekers. In 2024 alone, the event spurred more than 8,000 room nights locally leading to more than $2M in revenue to San Diego hotels— a stellar ROI after SDTMD’s investment of just over $69,000 last year.
Rady Children’s Invitational (Nov. 27–28)
SDTMD Grant Funding: $75,000
Rady Children’s Invitational attracts collegiate sports fans during Thanksgiving week, smoothing seasonal occupancy dips. The tournament brings multiple NCAA basketball teams and their fan bases to San Diego, encouraging multi-night stays and holiday weekend travel that benefits hotels citywide.
WWE Survivor Series (Nov. 29)
SDTMD Grant Funding: $650,000
WWE Survivor Series War Games is a large event and is expected to generate demand for hotel room nights as well as marketing value as it broadcasts the event internationally. Coming off record-breaking ticket sale revenue in 2024, the 2025 event will capitalize on this momentum with Petco Park becoming the first-ever stadium to host Survivor Series and marking WWE’s return to San Diego after more than a decade.
What’s the broader impact of SDTMD funding for San Diego?
Beyond hotel revenue, these events sustain local jobs and generate Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), which helps fund essential City services like public safety, libraries and street repairs. SDTMD’s investments in these slower-season events show how strategic seasonal funding can turn quiet months into reliable gains for hotels and the City alike. As a tourism improvement district, SDTMD ensures that strategic event funding translates into tangible results like room night generation and a stronger year-round visitor economy.