SAN ANTONIO, TX – The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce just launched a new Spanish language web site designed to reach out to Hispanic business leaders across Latin America. This is the first Chamber site of its kind in the nation. The website, www.ConoceSanAntonio.com (“Get to know San Antonio”) provides critical information to Hispanic business owners, investors and their families regarding starting a business, relocation and visiting San Antonio. 
“The Chamber felt a responsibility to provide answers to ensure the success of these Hispanic families. We could not find anything on the internet which provided this type of comprehensive information in Spanish; so we sought to fill the void. It is a great resource for this audience, the city of San Antonio, as well as an added benefit to our Chamber members because it connects them with this growing market,” said Chamber President and CEO Richard Perez.
Business leaders from Mexico comprise a large percentage of new families to San Antonio and created a need for relocation information in Spanish. The Chamber utilized focus groups with recently relocated business owners from South America to shape the content on the site. These interviews provided scenarios that became the format for the online information.
“We learned that families were making costly mistakes which could have been avoided. For instance, they were misinformed about how to enter the US, enroll in schools, find appropriate banking services and purchase a home.” said Yesenia Monsour, The Chamber’s Vice President for Membership and Business Development. “By talking with these business leaders, we now understand how we can ease their transition.”
The site targets three primary audiences: The Spanish speaking business owner/entrepreneur, families who are relocating to San Antonio, and tourists. For example, the pages linked to the area for business owners/entrepreneurs, titled “empresarios” focuses on how to secure funding for business, cultural advice on US business practices, and depending on their business interest, what legal assistance they should seek.
The site also has many links to The Chamber’s main web site www.sachamber.org especially to the business directory area which will feature categories of Chamber members who provide services of interest to this audience.
The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce was established in 1984 and is the largest business organization in the region with approximately 2,000 members representing 250,000 employees in San Antonio and the surrounding area.