News Release

World Heritage Annual Accomplishment Report for 2020

News Release Date: September 23, 2021

Contact: Chantelle Ruidant-Hansen, [phone]

The World Heritage Site Annual Accomplishment Report celebrates the achievements of the many partners that preserve San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site. San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site encompasses five missions along the San Antonio River basin, as well as a mission ranch located in Floresville, Texas.

These sites are living, dynamic sites central to community identity & cultural continuity. Through events such as the World Heritage Festival, History and Genealogy Day, Dia de los Muertos, and more, the report shows that these places are centers of community identity, culture, and recreation. The community efforts seen in this report shows how San Antonio Missions are at the heart of the city.

To manage, preserve, and share the site's treasures, it takes the work of partners like Mission Heritage Partners, City of San Antonio World Heritage Office, San Antonio River Authority, Archdiocese of San Antonio, amongst others. The report highlights the accomplishments of the World Heritage Management Group and our primary partners toward the preservation and protection of the World Heritage Site, but also some examples of the robust economic activity national parks provide to communities. A June 2021 report from the National Park Service showed that for 2020, the park provided 1,240 jobs to the local community with supported $126 million in economic output.

Looking forward, San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site is excited to keep working with partners to provide even more opportunities for learning and recreation. For example our expanded programing to the least visited location within the World Heritage Site, Rancho de las Cabras. San Antonio Missions National Historical Park will offer monthly guided tours of the ranch in Floresville, Texas where archeological ruins remain from one of the first ranches in Texas.

It is through interpretation, education, and preservation of the Spanish colonial features identified in the Outstanding Universal Value of the UNESCO inscription, that we will ensure the park and its outstanding universal value endures for generations to come. To do this, we will continue to work as partners to find solutions to preservation challenges of the 21st century.

See the full report here.