SD’s Big Four Drivers: Mexico, Innovation, Tourism, Military

The panel pointed out, among other things, how collaborating with Mexico makes us a strong mega-region.

SAN DIEGO—Mexico, innovation, tourism and the military present a unique combination of opportunity for San Diego, which has a level of collaboration not seen in other markets, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.’s president and CEO Mark Cafferty told attendees at BMC’s 21^st Annual Real Estate Conference here last week. Cafferty, who moderated the panel “The Mega-Region and its Impact on Real Estate,” highlighted these four areas as a combination unique to San Diego’s economy.

Joe Terzi, president and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority, said tourism is serious business. Last year, 35 million people came into San Diego, and the majority of them were here for tourism. San Diego’s tourism sector has had record performance over the last two years and is a top-25 performing market along with L.A., San Francisco and Anaheim. San Diego is one of the top international destinations in the country, and the city is looking at ways to increase hotel product, with thousands of rooms being built in the Downtown market currently.