PRESS RELEASE - Love Our City Hospitality & Tourism Cleanup Day

As Summer Visitor Season Gets Underway, Hundreds of Volunteers Got to Work Sprucing Up San Francisco’s Most Visited Neighborhoods

 

San Francisco, CA – More than 600 volunteers joined Mayor London Breed today to flex their civic pride for the inaugural Love Our City Hospitality & Tourism Cleanup Day, when dedicated teams fanned out across downtown, the central waterfront and Fisherman’s Wharf to spruce up and beautify the neighborhoods.

 

The Hotel Council of San Francisco and San Francisco Travel hosted the Wednesday morning volunteer workday in partnership with San Francisco Public Works and business improvement and community benefit districts, as the popular summer visitor season revs up.

 

“This cleanup is just a part of our larger effort to work with our hospitality sector, neighborhood organizations, nonprofits and residents to keep our city beautiful and vibrant," said Mayor Breed. "We’re stepping up with new investments to clean up San Francisco, including adding more trash cans, more street cleaning, more public toilets and more dedicated cleaning teams in targeted areas. But we know that the best way to create a cleaner San Francisco is to keep it clean in the first place, and that requires all of us to do our part.”

 

Mayor Breed kicked off the day’s activities at 9 a.m. at Embarcadero Plaza (Market Street and The Embarcadero). From there, squads of volunteers armed with brooms and pickers to abate litter, and paint and brushes to eradicate graffiti and refresh street furniture and light poles, got to work. Other beautification projects included planting trees, weeding medians and tidying tree basins.

 

“The San Francisco hotel community is excited to join with Mayor Breed and our city partners to show our love for the city where we live, work and welcome guests,” said Kevin Carroll, president and CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco.

 

“The staff and partners of San Francisco Travel proudly promote our destination to the world daily. It’s great to have an opportunity to physically show our pride by getting out and helping to keep our streets and neighborhoods looking good,” said Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association.

 

Last year, San Francisco hosted 25.8 million visitors, who collectively spent an estimated $10 billion on overnight accommodations, restaurants, attractions, souvenirs, transportation, tours and the like, supporting more than 82,000 local jobs that bolster the City’s economy.

 

The June 12 volunteer workday builds on a citywide Love Our City cleanup hosted by Mayor Breed and San Francisco Public Works last fall that drew hundreds of volunteers in residential areas and neighborhood commercial corridors across the City.

 

“Love Our City extends beyond these volunteer events. It’s about getting people to love our city every day of the year and not trash it,” said Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. “Our cleaning crews, who remove more than 20,000 tons of garbage off the sidewalks and streets annually, will continue to be on the job 24/7. But keeping our city looking its best requires a true team effort.”

 

In addition to the Hotel Council of San Francisco and San Francisco Travel, other participants in the Love Our City Hospitality & Tourism Cleanup Day include Union Square Business Improvement District, Yerba Buena Community Benefit District, East Cut Community Benefit District, Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit District, Tenderloin Community Benefit District and Recology.

 

About San Francisco Public Works: The 24/7 City agency cleans and resurfaces streets; plants and nurtures City-maintained street trees; designs, constructs and maintains City-owned facilities; inspects streets and sidewalks; builds curb ramps; eradicates graffiti; partners with neighborhoods; trains people for jobs; greens the right of way; and educates our communities.

 

About the Hotel Council of San Francisco: The Hotel Council of San Francisco is the voice of San Francisco’s hotel industry. Established in 1987, the Hotel Council represents the city’s leading hotels of all sizes and includes members from businesses and suppliers. Learn more at www.hotelcouncilsf.org.

 

About San Francisco Travel Association: The San Francisco Travel Association is the official destination marketing organization for the City and County of San Francisco, promoting San Francisco as a top global destination of choice for conventions and leisure travel. More than 1,300 Bay Area businesses are San Francisco Travel partners, making its partnership base one of the largest of any convention and visitors bureau worldwide.

 

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