San Diego Pride Parade is the largest single-day civic event

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SD Pride Parade is the largest single-day civic event

July 13th, 2017
SD Pride Parade is the largest single-day civic event
by Timothy Rawles - Community Editor for SDGLNLOCAL

The mayor said San Diego is coming off the best tourism year ever and these two events continually offer the best the city has to offer.

The economic impact contributes millions to the city.
San Diego Pride Parade draws more people than Comic-Con each year and generates millions of dollars to the local economy. The parade sees an estimated 200,000 people; Comic-Con, 135,000.

Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer and other community leaders including Councilmember Chris Ward discussed how these two major annual events are important for the city’s economy.

The mayor said San Diego is coming off the best tourism year ever and these two events continually offer the best the city has to offer.

“Aside from having an enormous cultural impact on our city and visitors, Pride and Comic-Con pump millions of dollars into our local economy to support local businesses, job growth, road repair and public safety.”

Councilmember Ward echoed the mayor’s words and emphasized how Pride showcases local Hillcrest businesses making it an important and inclusive community.

He adds, “These events are not only a wonderful opportunity to welcome thousands of visitors to San Diego, but a time for two of our most dynamic communities to host two of our city's iconic annual events."

Although Comic-Con is the leading source of revenue over Pride with $135 million dollars, Pride and the LGBT community continuously pump plenty of funds into the local economy throughout the year. Additionally, money raised from Pride goes into local LGBT resources.

“What started as a small march with a few dozen people is now a week of celebration, education and protest that allows San Diego LGBT Pride to serve the full spectrum of our community all year,” said Fernando Lopez, Director of Operations for San Diego Pride. “Of course San Diego Pride throws the biggest and best party in town, and the funds raised from this weekend’s Pride Festival go to toward providing Community Grants to LGBT-serving nonprofits as well as our year-round organizing, advocacy and education programs.”

Barbra Blake, the CEO of the Greater San Diego Business Association said revenue from the community expands long after Pride weekend.

“Each year San Diego’s LGBT consumers contributes over $10 billion to the regional economy and, as a popular LGBT vacation destination city, we host thousands of LGBT vacationers year round, adding an additional few million to our economy,” she said.

July and August are San Diego’s biggest tourism months. In 2016, the city attracted a record 34.9 million visitors who spent just over $10 billion.

“Events like Comic-Con and Pride showcase San Diego as a diverse and inclusive community, which are important aspects of economic development and the type of environment and workforce that makes San Diego a world-class place to run a business,” said Jerry Sanders, President and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “The thousands of people who come to our city for these events give a major boost to local businesses and help create jobs for San Diegans.”

The San Diego LGBT Pride Parade and Festival kicks off with the Spirit of Stonewall Rally on Friday, July 14 and runs through Sunday, July 16.

Comic-Con begins with Preview Night on Wednesday, July 19 and runs until Sunday, July 23.