Vibrant Hospitality Sector

The city’s tourism industry continues to be an important engine for growth, supporting more than 7,100 local jobs. In 2016, a record 3.7 million visitors generated an estimated $827 million of economic impact in Oakland. Leisure, hospitality, and retail employment has grown significantly in the past five years, as reflected in national attention on the food and arts scene.

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The Tourism sector created a large number of entry-level jobs, which can pave the way for management-level positions and long-term careers.

Over the next 20 years, global tourism numbers are expected to double, and Visit Oakland has set a target of attracting 7.5 million annual visitors by 2025. To achieve this ambitious goal, the City will need to expand its tourism infrastructure.

With only 5,000 hotel rooms, operating at an average 74% occupancy (significantly higher than the national average of 65.5%), demand is already outpacing supply. In fact, Oakland’s hotel demand has increased 20% since 2010, while our supply of hotel rooms has dropped 4% during the same period.

The lack of hotel rooms is compounded by a lack of convention and meeting space and, as a result, the city is currently unable to bid and compete for many conventions and large-scale events.

To help combat these issues, the City will identify sites for hotels and meeting space and encourage adaptive re-use hotel projects. We will also attract hotel developers and operators and explore co-investment opportunities
with the industry.

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