SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio continues to feel the fallout over concerns about the novel coronavirus outbreak.
As of Wednesday, three large groups have canceled their events in San Antonio, according to officials with Visit San Antonio, and five other groups are planning to postpone their conferences.
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The American Society for Health Care Engineering has scrapped its PDC Summit that was scheduled to take place at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center from March 22-25. The health care planning, design and construction summit would have brought about 2,500 people to San Antonio.
Visit San Antonio officials said another group that was scheduled to come this week with 1,000 people has also pulled out. Visit San Antonio officials didn’t want to name the group because it had not been publicly announced.
Last week, the Self Storage Association canceled its annual spring conference and trade show that was scheduled in San Antonio for March 17-19.
The combined economic loss from the three conferences alone is estimated to be more than $4 million, according to David Gonzalez, the director of communications for Visit San Antonio.
It’s the latest disappointing news for the city in a time when many companies and organizations are curbing employee travel amid COVID-19 concerns.
Groups postpone, cancel conventions in San Antonio over coronavirus concerns
The National Society of Black Engineers has postponed a planned convention in San Antonio that was scheduled for March 25-29.
Officials with Visit San Antonio said they are trying to urge groups to postpone conferences rather than cancel them so that the city can retain the travel and tourism dollars.
“Any cancellation or postponement is going to be felt through the community,” Gonzalez said. “Travel and tourism is the third-largest industry in the city and employs one out of seven workers in the city.”