Maskless will test tourism magnets
At many of San Antonio’s busiest tourist attractions, the rule won’t change — face masks required.
But Gov. Greg Abbott’s order abolishing the state mandate to wear face coverings in public places, effective next Wednesday, will put workers and managers in a difficult — if not impossible — position when guests insist on going barefaced.
“Now it’s going to be on us if we require masks,” said Davis Phillips, owner of Ripley’s Haunted Adventure and two attractions near the Alamo. “It puts us in a confrontational position with our guests. We don’t want to do that.
“But if we allow guests to come in without masks, our staff may feel unsafe,” he said.
Phillips said he will continue requiring his employees to wear masks and will likely do the same for guests. But when visitors object, workers won’t be able to point to signs stating the masks are required by government mandate.
The problem is that maskwearing is “a politically divisive issue,” said Sharon Aguillen, president and CEO of the San Antonio Visitor Alliance, which represents tourist attractions, hotels and restaurants.
Nevertheless, Aguillen said many of the organization’s members will continue requiring masks to protect employees and guests from the coronavirus, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
Tourist attractions that plan to keep mask rules in place include Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Seaworld San Antonio, the Witte Museum, Morgan’s Wonderland, Legoland Discovery Center San Antonio and the San Antonio Zoo.
These destinations are part of a leisure and hospitality industry — among San Antonio’s largest — that’s been savaged by COVID-19. From December 2019 to December 2020, 23.3 percent of all San Antonio-area hotel, restaurant and bar workers and others in tourism-related businesses lost their jobs, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Industry leaders have been counting on the COVID-19 vaccines, combined with mask requirements, to drive down infection rates — and reassure tourists that it’s safe to venture out again.
The San Antonio Zoo requires masks inside its buildings but allows visitors to take them off on park walkways if they maintain social distancing.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas officials decided to keep their mask policy after scrutinizing Abbott’s announcement.
“We have carefully reviewed our safety protocols with medical advisers, and we have determined that we will continue to follow CDC face mask guidelines and require guests ages 2 and older and all team members to wear masks while in our parks,” said Chris Ozimek, the park’s marketing director.
At Seaworld San Antonio, “nothing is changing,” said Byron Surrett, the park’s president. “We will continue to follow CDC guidelines on masks.”
Terry Corless, who owns three River Walk restaurants and a fourth on the street level downtown, said his establishments will require staff to wear masks and request that guests do the same.
His employees have had confrontations with people who angrily refuse to wear masks on entering the establishments or going to the restroom, even with the mask orders in force.
“Customers were saying they were free Texans and we can’t tell them what to do,” Corless said. His workers have asked a few guests to leave.
By Wednesday, the restaurants will have signs encouraging guests to wear masks.
“There’s not a lot we can do if they don’t,” Corless said. “In our environment, it can become volatile and we will have no authority do anything about it.”
At the Witte Museum, plans are to eject guests who won’t wear masks. But president and CEO Marise Mcdermott said she doesn’t expect trouble from guests refusing to comply. After the museum reopened May 30 — and before Abbott’s statewide mask order July 2 — only three guests came in without face masks. And all three complied after staffers asked them to don masks.
“The visitors got a little edgy, but everyone ended up cooperating,” Mcdermott said.
A spokesman for the Alamo, one of Texas’ top tourist destinations, said masks currently are required throughout the historic site, indoors and outdoors, but declined to say whether the rule will still apply next Wednesday.
Attraction operators’ continued emphasis on mask-wearing can only help the tourism business, said Richard Oliver, director of partner and community relations at Visit San Antonio, the public-private partnership that promotes the city as a tourist destination.
“As an organization, we are encouraging visitors to wear a mask,” he said, noting that Visit San Antonio’s website has a section devoted to steps visitors can take to stay COVID-19-FREE while visiting.
In the meantime, Visit San Antonio is gearing up for the summer tourist season, with officials planning to spend 76 percent of the organization’s $5.7 million marketing budget during the summer months.
“Our message will remain the same — that San Antonio is a safe and welcoming place,” Oliver said.
He said that as Texans continue to be vaccinated, and more people feel comfortable taking day trips, San Antonio will be a logical place to visit — especially for people who live within a few hours’ drive time.
“When people start putting their toes in the water and consider travel, we hope they will think of San Antonio,” Oliver said.