In the SFO-sponsored vlog below, Canadian-born, Hong Kong-based vloggers Sam and Victor highlight how a modern international couple navigate the city. They ride Waymo instead of a tour bus, visit museums, and cafe-hop through the city neighborhoods. The video reflects San Francisco’s recent effort to change the media narrative and bring international tourism back to the area.
In early June, the eyes of the sporting world turned to Northern California for the 2026 FIFA World Cup six match kickoff in the Bay Area. Billions of dollars were spent for infrastructure logistics and meeting international broadcasting standards for the ultimate example of high-volume sports tourism. But while undeniably impactful, massive sporting events like the World Cup, NBA All-Star Game, and Super Bowl can’t single-handedly dictate a city’s cultural narrative; especially one with a recent public relations crisis.
Financially, tourism is officially back and breaking records. But San Francisco’s impressive $9.9 billion tourism comeback wasn't engineered in a boardroom or a stadium suite. It was won on the pavements of the city's unique neighborhoods by creators who threw out the traditional advertising script.
The doom loop reputation
Global news reports in 2023 and 2024 were heavily fixated on San Francisco’s “doom loop” narrative. Reports focused on empty storefronts, street cleanliness, and retail theft. The doom loop narrative spurred an intentional shift in global branding for the city that required a change in strategy from previous tourism marketing campaigns.
San Francisco Travel Association (SF Travel) was one of the major players in shifting the marketing message for San Francisco. Technically an independent, private not-for-profit organization, SF Travel is the city’s officially contracted, destination marketing organization and maintains representatives in ten strategic international markets.
The initial response to the doom loop rhetoric by SF Travel in 2023 and 2024 was a defensive retreat into the familiar, polished, and whimsical depictions of San Francisco as if to say “We are still the beautiful and quirky place we have always been.” Campaigns featured curated scenes of cable cars, idyllic parks, and local artists.
The “Believe in San Francisco” bet
When this traditional approach failed to move the needle, strategists moved on to the current theme of “Believe in San Francisco,” aligning with a broader civic ethos. Strategists realized that international tourists were hesitant to visit the city due to its negative media depiction. San Francisco needed a format that felt less like a polished brand directive and more like an authentic invitation showing real city experiences.
Travel campaign strategies shifted from colorful commercialism to raw, cinematic photography depicting an active, innovative, and optimistic city with a neighborhood-centric culinary culture.
The storefront strategy
The top countries visiting San Francisco are Mexico, the United Kingdom, China, Canada, and India.
Data Source: San Francisco Travel Association / Tourism Economics
While these five nations represent the bulk of raw volume, Australia lies just outside the top tier. Yet it represents a “white whale” in terms of financial yield for the city. Australians historically stay longer and spend more. It also represents a perfect testing ground of SF Travel’s strategy shift to improve local tourism.
SF Travel teamed up with global travel-tech platforms like BYRDLI to give full narrative control to international creators. In one example, they worked with Australian travel influencer Lola Hubner (@lolahubner) to showcase a creator-driven trip to San Francisco.
@lolahubner Oh San Francisco, you’re beautiful ❤️ #sanfrancisco
Viewers could interact with a travel storefront to instantly book Lola’s exact itinerary, from boutique hotel accommodations to dining spots. Recognizing that Instagram Reels are ephemeral, these travel storefronts and long-form blog guides provide a lasting solution that continues to drive traffic to the city’s tourism pipeline.
The strategy is paying off
The real magic of San Francisco’s tourism turnaround lies on the pavements of the city’s unique neighborhoods, showcased in decentralized marketing campaigns by international creators. The strategy is paying off. In May of this year, the San Francisco Travel Association released 2025 visitor impact figures and 2026 projections of $9.9 billion in visitor spending.
The era of paying someone to simply post a pretty photo of the Golden Gate Bridge is dead. By treating influencers as independent travel agents, the city has created a highly trackable and personal network. The Australian partnership serves as a winning blueprint for next-generation destination marketing. By letting real people show the real streets, “Believe in San Francisco” helped SF Travel turn a grim narrative into a record-breaking financial comeback.