San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
How APEC boosted S.F. — and fell short
Hundreds of people waved dozens of red and yellow Chinese flags around Moscone Center all last week, chanting patriotic slogans. Across the street, protesters yelled “Free Tibet!” next to black security fences, with some encounters turning violent. Scores of armed men and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the streets of South of Market.
The message was clear: This wasn’t just any normal conference in San Francisco.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit drew leaders from 21 economic regions to the city from Nov. 11-17. Around 20,000 people, including 1,200 CEOs attended, including titans of industry from Apple, ExxonMobil, Microsoft and Google.
Inside a glittering ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Downtown last Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping extolled his nation’s partnership with the U.S. as corporate chiefs ate Blue Bottle Coffee-crusted steak and drank wine from Napa Valley. Across town at the Exploratorium, President Joe Biden hosted a party with pop singer Gwen Stefani as fireworks boomed overhead.
Beyond the festivities, the global spotlight on San Francisco is giving officials hope that the glow from the event will lead to a boost in tourism and help reverse the negative media coverage of the city’s numerous challenges. The city’s biggest international event in eight decades was expected to generate $52 million in economic impact and more than 55,000 booked hotel room nights, according to San Francisco Travel, the local tourism bureau. Finalized figures haven’t been calculated.
But the street-by-street impact of APEC on South of Market wasn’t entirely positive.
The city extensively cleaned up sidewalks and roads and told homeless people to leave the Moscone Center area. The result inside the security zone wasn’t exactly vibrancy: Restaurants suffered from weak foot traffic and disrupted deliveries. It was a sharp contrast to the usual business boom when corporate and tech conferences come to town.
With the Secret Service running the show, there wasn’t much that the city could do except warn businesses to prepare for street closures and bag inspections.
“It’s very different than the typical convention,” said Joe D’Alessandro, the longtime, outgoing CEO of San Francisco Travel.
D’Alessandro believes that APEC media coverage of traffic disruptions and reports to avoid downtown “scared people away.”
“Local customers canceled because they were afraid to come downtown,” he said.
Ironically, the fear wasn’t that downtown was too dangerous, but rather there was so much security, including blocks of black fencing in the area, that getting around would be inconvenient.
Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents South of Market, said the event was a successful and “historic” event, but wants to hear more about its flaws.
“I think it succeeded in showcasing San Francisco to the world, and we can be grateful for that. But now that APEC has concluded, I also think it’s important for the city to solicit feedback from the community on what went well and where we have room for improvement — including any undue hardships that
the security restrictions may have had on small businesses in and around the security zone,” he said.
Dorsey plans to have a hearing at the Budget and Finance Committee in early December to solicit community feedback on the event.
City staff are also talking to business owners in the Moscone Center area, said Sarah Dennis Phillips, executive director of the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development.
Though the city knew security would be heavy, she said the “visual intimidation” of black fencing and major drop-off in local business was worse than expected.
“We understand those businesses suffered,” she said, with security adding to years of pandemic business struggles. “We get it, the pain of APEC made this even harder,” she said.
The city is exploring potential aid that could include business rent subsidies, marketing help or more events like the Chinatown Night Market that was held on the first day of APEC.
The U.S. State Department confirmed that it won’t reimburse San Francisco for conference related costs. Instead, the city
raised over $20 million from private donations to help fund services, and some of that money could potentially be used to help small businesses.
Although some locals were disrupted, the mood was far better among visitors, D’Alessandro said. Attendees who had read all about San Francisco’s woes like homelessness consistently told him, “it’s much better than I thought it was going to be,” though others told the Chronicle that homelessness and safety concerns were present.
“It’s different. There are more empty storefronts downtown,” said D’Alessandro. “The reality is, it still is this beautiful city.”
D’Alessandro is hopeful an easing of tensions between the U.S. and China will help draw a critical group of tourists to the city. Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were the biggest spenders in San Francisco out of any nationality.
During his speech to business leaders, Xi said he was working with Biden to increase commercial flights, holding a “high-level dialogue on tourism” and streamlining visa applications.
The city has been monitoring Chinese press coverage and found it’s been largely positive. One story in state-controlled Xinhua during the conference highlighted Xi’s fond memories of visiting the Golden Gate Bridge and Iowa.
The conference didn’t have any major disruptions, though protesters shut down the Bay Bridge last Thursday. A Czech camera crew was robbed at gunpoint in North Beach on Nov. 12, prompting other media outlets to donate equipment.
A Chronicle reporter saw a man wearing an APEC CEO Summit badge punch a female protester in the face. The woman, Sarah White, has a broken jaw that will require surgery and the man, Michael Davies, was charged with felony assault. Pro-China and pro-Tibet independence supporters clashed in a bloody melee.
But previous APEC summits in other countries saw protesters sprayed with tear gas amid widespread violence. In contrast, San Francisco’s protests were relatively peaceful, San Francisco police said.
Matt Murray, the U.S. State Department’s senior official for APEC, said it was an “amazing” conference, with major diplomatic wins and a “phenomenal job” by San Francisco.
“Pretty much every night of the week I saw Mayor Breed and I saw her team. She was very present,” he said. “San Francisco did a wonderful job of hosting.”
Murray said he personally would be happy to consider San Francisco as a host city for a future State Department event.
Though some South of Market restaurants had a rough week, final economic impact isn’t yet available, so the conference’s overall impact is uncertain.
Murray said his team hosted an event at the Harlequin, a cocktail bar, and conference organizers worked with small businesses to showcase their products in gift bags.
Local businesses like Thatcher’s Gourmet Popcorn and 4505 Burgers and BBQ have samples for the international press at Moscone North.
“Certainly, our hope is there is a net benefit for the city for being able to host this event,” beyond just business profits and bolstering its international reputation, Murray said.
He said many delegates said they wanted to come back not only for business, but also for a future vacation.
“Most people I talked to were pretty positive,” he said. Some visitors, particularly from Asia, were more concerned about safety, but that was also the case in previous APEC events this year in Detroit and Seattle.
“Our cities across the U.S. aren’t perfect but there’s a lot of good things that happen there too,” he said. “I think everybody is seeing with fresh eyes what all of these places are like.”
APEC will be the last big event for D’Alessandro from San Francisco Travel, who is retiring at the end of the year after being appointed in 2006.
He’s seen both boom times and an unprecedented collapse in tourism during the pandemic, but remains hopeful.
“I’m confident the city is resilient. It will come back. It’s too special,” D’Alessandro said.
“San Francisco in its worst time is a beautiful city. Other cities have come back and are still ugly.”