San Antonio Mayor says lingering pandemic restrictions on River Walk events could be lifted soon

SA Mayor Ron Nirenberg Tuesday met with local hospitality industry members and said pandemic restrictions for outdoor events in city-owned facilities could be lifted within the next few weeks.

According to the San Antonio Report, Nirenberg attended a lunch hosted by the San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Association and other hospitality industry partners to discuss current issues affecting the industry.

“I would expect that within the next several weeks — as we start to see the positive rate continue to maintain at that local level, and vaccinations go up — we’re going to start opening up outdoor events broadly without restrictions,” Nirenberg said. The Report added that Nirenberg mentioned the City would continue to maintain mask guidance as long as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises it.

A spokesperson for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District told the San Antonio Report that the plan Nirenberg referred to is still under development and would not be finalized until next week. Until then, the office could provide no further details.

Event cancellations have been catastrophic for the local tourism industry. According to the Report, a Wednesday tally provided by Visit San Antonio showed that the city has lost 297 citywide and in-house meetings to cancellations. This translates to an estimated $475 million in lost economic impact.

As for the revival of SA's convention business, Nirenberg said that, of the roughly 60 event and convention proposals the city has recently entertained, “we’ve been able to accommodate every single request, every single proposal that’s come our way.”

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