The San Francisco Travel Association has appointed travel representation and PR specialists, Hills Balfour, as its new UK representative office.

Following a competitive pitch process, the company was awarded the two-year contract due to its in-depth US knowledge and extensive industry experience in marketing destinations across the globe to a UK audience.

The London-based agency, which in 2018 joined forces with MMGY Global, will manage the sales, marketing and PR for the city and international airport.

Hills Balfour will be responsible for implementing an integrated tourism strategy across consumer marketing, PR, social and trade channels.

The appetite for travel to the US, and San Francisco in particular, is significant, with the UK representing the third largest overseas market for international arrivals to the US and San Francisco.

Currently, 28 per cent of overnight visitors to San Francisco originate from international markets, however those international visitors account for more than 61 per cent of all direct visitor spending.

The Hills Balfour team will therefore work closely with the in-house San Francisco Travel Association team to position San Francisco as the must-experience destination in the US by stimulating growth in market share, increasing overnight visitor numbers in order to maximise direct visitor spend as well as ensure the city attracts second and third-time visitors.

Joe D’Alessandro, president, San Francisco Travel Association, said: “San Francisco Travel Association is delighted to join forces with Hills Balfour to promote San Francisco and San Francisco International Airport to UK audiences.

“We look forward to working with the team to take the destination to the next level and ultimately increase net visitation and length of stay in our beautiful city.

“We will continue to work closely with our partner members to roll out an integrated global tourism strategy with Hills Balfour leading the charge in the UK market which is an important tourism source market for San Francisco.”