After 4 years on the helm, Marc Anderson has stepped down from the position of president and CEO of Go to San Antonio.
Because the official advertising and marketing group for the town, Go to San Antonio promotes the town as a premier vacation spot for leisure journey, conventions and conferences — a very large position for a metropolis contemplating plans to revamp San Antonio’s city core underneath Venture Marvel, a $4 billion proposal for a brand new Spurs enviornment and leisure district.
Anderson was named because the nonprofit group’s chief in April 2021 and formally stepped into the position in June of that yr. His tenure in San Antonio marked a strategic section for the group, which had transitioned from a metropolis division to a nonprofit in 2017. The nonprofit nonetheless receives about two-thirds of its annual funding from the town’s Lodge Occupancy Tax.
Anderson’s departure was introduced on Monday in a letter despatched to the nonprofit’s enterprise companions, a duplicate of which was obtained by the San Antonio Report. The letter, written by Mario Bass, who has stepped into the position as interim president and CEO, notes that Anderson determined to not renew his contract with Go to San Antonio and his final day was Friday, April 25.
“The Board’s Government Committees totally belief Go to San Antonio’s gifted group to proceed making sturdy, constructive influence on our metropolis,” Bass wrote. “A nationwide seek for Go to San Antonio’s President and CEO will start instantly.”
Anderson didn’t return a request for touch upon his exit.
His departure comes simply weeks after the Metropolis of San Antonio, Bexar County, and San Antonio Spurs took a major first step towards making Venture Marvel a actuality by signing an preliminary, non-binding, settlement to relocate the San Antonio Spurs to a downtown enviornment and repurpose the Frost Financial institution Heart.
The San Antonio Enterprise Journal reported final month that Anderson stated “it’s necessary … to take Venture Marvel very severely,” if the town needs to proceed attracting enormous occasions on par with the NCAA Males’s Remaining 4.
In an emailed assertion despatched to the Report, Go to San Antonio stated they want to thank Anderson for “serving to our metropolis’s important tourism trade by means of the pandemic financial restoration.”
“Go to San Antonio has a gifted group and senior management that may make sure the hospitality trade continues offering the greater than $21.5 billion in annual financial influence and employs 1 in 8 San Antonians,” said David Gonzalez, the nonprofit’s VP of media relations and communications.
When Anderson first stepped into the position, he introduced with him practically 30 years of expertise within the hospitality trade. Beforehand, he served as chief working officer at Select Chicago, an identical tourism group, and was chosen from a pool of greater than 100 candidates.
The choice committee, impressed by his daring concepts and profitable observe document —together with bringing the celebrated James Beard Basis Awards from New York Metropolis to Chicago — considered him as a robust chief to assist San Antonio’s tourism and conference sectors recuperate within the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anderson succeeded Casandra Matej, who had departed for the same place in Orlando.
In a press release issued on the time, Anderson described San Antonio as a “vibrant neighborhood” positioned for vital development, citing its pro-tourism and pro-business local weather.
Underneath his management, Go to San Antonio continued to advertise the town as a premier vacation spot for leisure and enterprise journey, sustaining partnerships with each public entities and personal organizations. A acknowledged determine in nationwide tourism circles, Anderson additionally held management roles with the U.S. Journey Affiliation and Locations Worldwide.
Key metropolis indicators present the native tourism trade has largely recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 2023 examine by Trinity College revealed that San Antonio’s tourism and hospitality trade exceeded key efficiency benchmarks in 2022, surpassing pre-pandemic ranges with a record-breaking financial influence of $19 billion, marking a ten% improve in comparison with the earlier yr.
The next yr, the trade continued its upward trajectory, with lodge revenues, customer numbers, and native spending all reaching new highs, additional cementing Texas as a high vacation spot for each home and worldwide vacationers.
