Nvidia AI events unleash “unprecedented surge” for downtown San Jose

SAN JOSE — The Nvidia AI conference in downtown San Jose triggered an “unprecedented” economic boom in the form of a visitor surge that bolstered an array of merchants throughout the city’s urban core.

Hotels and restaurants were buoyed by the influx of visitors for the Nvidia 2025 GTC conference for several days in March, according to a new report released by the San Jose Downtown Association.

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“Visitor foot traffic and spending soared during the weeklong event, which brought together thousands of global leaders and innovators in artificial intelligence,” the Downtown Association stated in its report.

The event helped set new benchmarks for San Jose’s tourism and hospitality sectors, according to the association.

The Downtown Association used a location platform called Placer.ai to assess the upswing in foot traffic for San Jose’s central business district.

The report compared the impact of the Nvidia conference in 2025 to the results of the 2024 Nvidia GTC gathering, which also occurred in March.

Among the key findings of the assessment of the impact of this year’s Nvidia event compared with 2024:

— Total visitors to downtown San Jose jumped 29%.

— Hotel usage climbed 47%.

–Restaurant visits rocketed higher by 132%, which would be far more than double the 2024 figure.

“This year’s GTC was a game-changer for downtown,” said Alex Stettinski, chief executive officer of the San Jose Downtown Association. “It proves San Jose’s readiness to host high-impact, global events.”

Here are some other details that sketch out the jump in economic activity due to this year’s Nvidia event.

— Hotel visits totaled approximately 29,900 in 2025 with 20,400 such visits in 2024, leading to the 47% increase.

— Downtown restaurants experienced about 13,200 visits compared with 5,700 last year. This jump points to a “thriving food scene and improved walkability downtown,” the association stated.

— The Nvidia GTC 2025 conference attracted attendees from 794 zip codes, including 496 from outside California. That equates to a 126% increase in out-of-state participation compared with 2024.

— An estimated 25,300 people attended the Nvidia GTC 2025 conference, up 29.7% from the 19,500 that attended the conference in 2024.

The upswing comes at a time when San Jose is preparing to help host an array of mega events in 2026. The events include the Super Bowl, several matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer event and one of the rounds of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament.

“Downtown San Jose is standing out as a world-class event destination,” Stettinski said.