Amidst economic anxieties on travel, county holding steady

This trend is largely replicated at San Francisco International Airport, SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said. The airport serves as an economic and visitation hub for many cities across San Mateo County.

“For the first three months of 2025, overall passenger traffic continues to be up year-over-year,” Yakel said in an email.

Flights from Canada to SFO for the third quarter of 2025 are only down 1% from last year, Yakel said, and the number of available plane seats from Mexico to SFO during that same time frame are actually up 18%.

Visitation to San Mateo County hotels typically accrues 10% year-to-year growth, and the statistics don’t reflect any major changes thus far, John Hutar, CEO of the San Francisco Peninsula tourism and visitor bureau, said. He acknowledged, however, that the possibility of an economic recession and increasing tariffs is top of mind for those in the hospitality industry.

“There hasn’t been any appreciable movement so far,” he said. “We’re hearing that conversation, and it does give you cause for concern.”

Thus far, large-scale clients that might host their yearly conferences and events at local hotels have been “slowing their roll” in signing future contracts but still remain interested in having events and are conducting site visits, Hutar said.

“I do feel we are, in a way, expecting very sunny weather, [but] watching the weather channel forecast this thing barreling towards us,” he said.

In Millbrae — which generates a significant amount of its hotel revenue from visitors, given its proximity to the airport — plans for a property-owner funded Community Benefit District were put on pause given these federal economic uncertainties.

Around 177,000 jobs were added in April as the job market showed resilience in the face of the trade wars. Yet Mayor Anders Fung said the country’s dropping GDP and contracting economic markers has a chilling impact on both business and consumer confidence, which led the city to temporarily discontinue the program so as to not put any excess stress on businesses, .

While hotel stays in the city have largely stabilized, Millbrae is continuing to closely watch the impact that federal economic uncertainty has on the city.

“Millbrae is doing well in general,” Fung said. “Hoteliers were seeing some decline in bookings at the onset of the trade war — things have stabilized a little bit … This is something we want to continue to monitor.”

Worries around the economy that residents and business owners might have are not unique to Millbrae, Fung said.

“People are concerned, obviously. They want to know where things are going to land before they commit to a new investment,” he said. “All the cities are likely to be impacted just as much. South City [for example] has just as many hotels as we do, and relies on Pacific Rim trade just as much as we do.”

Hutar is hopeful that the county will be able to focus on upcoming events like the 2026 Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup, both likely to bring an increase in spending and visitors to the area. But he, too, acknowledged the anxieties that many are feeling, largely around the unpredictability of what the country’s economic future holds.

“The problem with uncertainty is when it hits, it seems to hit very quickly,” he said. “It’s great today — we are concerned with what the news may bring tomorrow.”

holly@smdailyjournal.com

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