Just ask San Antonio locals and you’ll probably get a more positive economic outlook than most destinations provide these days. And residents aren’t the only ones singing the upbeat tune. Forbes magazine named San Antonio one of the top recession-proof cities in the nation, and one that’s poised for a rapid rise in economic recovery.
Scott White, executive director of the San Antonio CVB, says additions and enhancements to the city’s infrastructure continue, and a CVB program remains in place to encourage meeting planners to visit and see all that’s new and noteworthy.
"We haven’t cut one dollar from our sales and marketing budget," White says. "We know if we can get planners to come here, nine times out of 10 they’ll be sold on our product."
Meeting professionals are invited for sponsored site visits under the city’s "In the Heart Meetings" program that spotlights San Antonio’s attributes as a meetings destination: proactive, productive, playful and prudent.
The CVB’s proactive approach to serving meeting groups is well known, White says, and productivity related to meetings comes from the city’s compact downtown character, where there’s plenty to do and places to meet. Playful speaks to San Antonio’s nature and its nickname, "Fiesta City." Attendees find it a great place to bring the family for extra days of leisure before and after meetings, with attractions like SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and over 40 golf courses and practice greens—as well as the staple attractions like the Alamo and the River Walk. Prudence relates to the low cost of doing business in the city and its convenient and cost-efficient features such as the three-mile stretch of restaurants, shops, entertainment and meeting venues along the famous, centrally located and landscaped River Walk.
This year, the San Antonio region is opening 20 new properties totaling more than 3,500 guest rooms, bringing the inventory to more than 40,000 units, including 13,000 downtown rooms. Last year brought the new Grand Hyatt San Antonio adjacent to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center downtown, with 1,000 guest rooms and 115,000 square feet of meeting space overlooking the River Walk. And there’s more than hotels on the docket. Coming in 2010 is a new terminal at San Antonio International Airport that will give the site 29 gates and include upgrades to dining, artwork and retail facilities.
One thing driving the continued investment in infrastructure is competition among hoteliers, according to White. The 2008 opening of the Grand Hyatt created new competition and caused hotel owners like Marriott and Hilton to reinvest in their existing San Antonio products.
"There has been a ripple effect," White says, "as the Hilton across the street from the convention center is doing a $30 million upgrade, and Marriott is putting $55 million into downtown renovations, plus $480 million in the new JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa property that opens early next year."
The new Marriott resort opens in February for group business, White says, and it will feature two TPC golf courses, a six-acre waterpark, a 26,000-square-foot spa and 140,000 square feet of meeting and event space. It’s about a 20-minute drive from downtown and near The Westin La Cantera Resort, Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa and San Antonio International Airport.
Culture remains an enormous San Antonio draw for visitors, and that facet of the city that preserves and protects its heritage also continues to thrive. The Lila Cockrell Theatre next to the convention center is undergoing a $26 million renovation that will be ready in October 2010. Also opening about the same time is The Briscoe Western Art Museum. It will celebrate the art, people and history of the American West, with an emphasis on the South Texas region and an arts and education center in more than 40,000 square feet of gallery and exhibition areas. The beloved McNay Art Museum, which is housed in a Spanish Colonial Revival-style former residence, has invested about $51 million in its recent expansion, which offers a sculpture garden and glass-roofed exhibit space. The museum’s event space now accommodates up to 800 private event guests. The Witte Art Museum is also adding space (30,000 square feet of exhibit, event and restaurant space) to the home of collections depicting South Texas history, culture and natural science on the banks of the San Antonio River.
Museums are the main attraction along the recently opened River Walk Museum Reach extension, which winds north from city center, past the San Antonio Museum of Art and the restored Pearl Brewery, the extension’s anchor spot and home to shops, eateries such as Texas Farm to Table Cafe (an organic station), Il Sogno (Italian restaurant) and Sandbar Fish House & Market, as well as The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). As one of the world’s leading culinary colleges, the CIA offers two-day Latin-inspired cooking classes at its Center for Foods of the Americas campus. The classes are for anyone with an enthusiasm for food. Group cooking classes can be arranged as spouse programs or team-building programs for business groups. Also coming to the Pearl Brewery complex is an outdoor performance amphitheater inspired by the Arneson River Theatre in the historic La Villita district downtown. The new River Walk Museum Reach sector has even more visitor lures in its public art installations by artists from around the world, such as Donald Lipski’s school of fiberglass sunfish suspended above the river.
Brenda Square, convention services manager for the San Antonio CVB, says immersion into San Antonio culture begins right away for most visitors.
"The minute you travel here you can’t help but notice that the colors are a little brighter, the music a little happier and the people are so authentic and down to Earth," she says. "We incorporate museums and galleries as potential venues as well as favorite local talent like Gini Garcia, acclaimed artist and glass blower. She welcomes you into her shop and gives a demonstration in glass blowing. It’s really awe-inspiring to be in the presence of something being created with an artist’s hands."
And the San Antonio cultural experience just keeps growing. The beloved River Walk will eventually meander 13 miles through The Alamo City when another extension connecting four of San Antonio’s 18th century Spanish Colonial missions is complete in 2014.
"The city’s preservation commitment continues," White says. "We know that our projects to preserve and highlight the historic in both our commercial and residential sectors is important to the visitor experience." One preservation project in motion near The Alamo is Houston Street, where former retail department stores and other historic buildings are gradually becoming the home of restaurants, theaters and hotels, such as a new Hotel Indigo.
With all that’s new and coming, White says the city is starting to attract new markets, including incentives and a higher-end corporate client.
"In the past we haven’t had the availability, but with three new resorts by Westin, Hyatt and now Marriott, our destination has more options."
Why no recession in San Antonio? The city stands on its diverse economy, one that relies on major military and medical entities, he says.
"Most larger cities have relied heavily on their financial sectors, and because we do not, this has helped us in the current economic downturn," he says. "We see billions going into military infrastructure here and this means thousands of new jobs in fiber security and other functions. It really is nice to be recession-proof."
