Top Five Reasons Why San Antonio is an Ideal Host City for Pittcon

This past weekend, I just returned from a trip to Houston and San Antonio, where I attended two NBA games. This trip came off the heels of me being confirmed to attend Pittcon 2026, which coincidentally is taking place in San Antonio, Texas, this year.

Pittcon has been held in numerous popular American cities since its inception in 1950.¹ These cities have been located all across the United States, from New Orleans to Chicago to Philadelphia to San Diego. The majority of the cities that hosted Pittcon did so more than once.

That is partially what makes this year’s Pittcon more unconventional. San Antonio had never hosted Pittcon throughout its history, and this will be the first time the city has played host to this scientific conference.² Deep in the heart of Texas, San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States,³ but it is often overlooked thanks to the bustling metropolises of Houston and the Dallas–Fort Worth area. However, when you think about it, hosting Pittcon in San Antonio, while unexpected, makes sense for a lot of reasons.

In this article, we look at the five major reasons why San Antonio is set to be a perfect host city for Pittcon this year.

Strong Scientific and Research Ecosystem

Thanks to its growth over the past decade, San Antonio has become a city that has built and cultivated a strong research and scientific ecosystem.⁴ Numerous important research institutions exist within city limits, especially in biomedical, public health, and the environmental sciences. For example, South Texas Medical Center, UT Health San Antonio, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, and Southwest Research Institute create a serious scientific footprint.⁴

Having Pittcon in San Antonio reinforces the city’s commitment to becoming a research hub.

Excellent Conference Infrastructure

Upon driving into downtown San Antonio, I passed by the Henry B. González Convention Center, which will be the venue for Pittcon in March. I was impressed with how huge, clean, and modern the facility looked. Located in the heart of downtown right by the River Walk, the Henry B. González Convention Center is in a practical, ideal location and it is built to accommodate large, technical meetings. The Convention Center is also walkable to many major hotels, meeting spaces, and tourist attractions that attendees would be interested in.

When planning for any conference, logistics is an important consideration. Can attendees easily get to the conference? Is it in a safe location? Can it hold the requisite number of people expected to attend? All these variables go into consideration when planning a huge conference like Pittcon, and the Henry B. González Convention Center passes all those necessary hurdles.

Easy and Affordable Access

Staying with our theme of logistics, San Antonio International Airport is also a selling point for traveling to this year’s conference. Pittcon attracts attendees from all over the U.S., Canada, and overseas, so having an airport that is easy to navigate and well-connected to major U.S. hubs is an important consideration. San Antonio’s airport fulfills both these requirements. As an added benefit, San Antonio International Airport is not as hectic as some other major U.S. airports, which improves the travel experience for attendees coming from locations further away.

The hotel rates and dining costs are also not as exorbitant as seen in other U.S. cities, so the city is more affordable for both organizers and attendees, provided that they planned ahead.

Appealing Climate and Year-round Comfort

Although Pittcon takes place in early March and not during the dead of winter, some cities still face winter temperatures during this month. San Antonio is not one of those cities. Although it was cold when I visited San Antonio last weekend, this was coming off of a record-breaking winter freeze. San Antonio temperatures in early March range can easily get into the 60s and early 70s.⁵

Decent weather genuinely boosts attendance and overall satisfaction, so San Antonio’s climate makes it more likely that conference attendees will get to experience better weather.

Built-In Tourist Appeal

Another reason why people like to travel for conferences is for the added benefit of exploring the city hosting the conference. The good news is that San Antonio is a good city for visitors. Apart from its history and culture, San Antonio offers numerous activities for attendees to do when they have some free time outside of their conference responsibilities.

First is the River Walk, which is a great area for shopping, dining, and walking. There are a plentiful of vibrant restaurants along the River Walk for all occasions, whether catching up with colleagues and friends or hosting clients. Second is the Alamo, which is a historic site right in the city center not far from the Convention Center. Although the Alamo is rich in history, it is also not a big site, but that makes it ideal for conference attendees who might not have as much free time during the week. And finally, for those attendees who will have access to a vehicle, there is the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park, which also commemorates the history of San Antonio missions for those fascinated by history.

Because of these five reasons, San Antonio is a great city to host any conference, including Pittcon. The decision to host Pittcon in San Antonio is indicative of the conference organizers being open to trying out new host cities. The success of this year’s conference could be the predicate for more first-time host cities to emerge in the late 2020s or early 2030s for Pittcon.

We are looking forward to being on the ground in San Antonio, Texas, in early March to cover this conference and learn about the recent trends and developments in analytical spectroscopy and separation science.

References

1. Pittcon, About The Company. Pittcon.org. Available at: https://pittcon.org/about-us/ (accessed 2026-02-02).
2. Pittcon, Why Pittcon in Texas. Pittcon.org. Available at: https://pittcon.org/exhibit-pittcon/why-texas/ (accessed 2026-02-02).
3. Moscowitz, D. 10 Largest Cities in the U.S. Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/050815/top-10-most-developed-cities-us.asp (accessed 2026-02-03).
4. VelocityTX, The Bioscience Industry in San Antonio. VelocityTX. Available at: https://velocitytx.org/bioscience-ecosystem/ (accessed 2026-02-03).
5. Bewley, D. Best Time to Visit San Antonio. Go City. Available at: https://gocity.com/en/san-antonio/things-to-do/best-time-to-visit-san-antonio (accessed 2026-02-03).