CANNON BEACH —

The tourist season is starting to look a bit more normal since hotels and vacation rentals have opened and coronavirus restrictions have loosened.

The city opened hotels to full capacity after Memorial Day weekend, and local leaders are trying to keep businesses operating while balancing safety. However, concern has spiked among locals after seeing more tourists downtown without masks and without social distancing.

Mayor Sam Steidel said that after about two months of adjusting to a sparse city, the uptick in visitors has been a shock to many.

“It would be kind of fascinating to see a couple of cars on Hemlock downtown pass each other, and all of a sudden now we have a fairly normal summer day with crowds that we’re accustomed to,” he said. “That’s a shock to folks seeing that change.”

Locals expressed concern about the lack of precautions taken by tourists during ‘Coffee With the Councilors’ on Monday with city Councilor Nancy McCarthy and Councilor Robin Risley.

“I think we need to start really focusing on people wearing masks and social distancing. And it needs to be a culture within our community to set an example,” Risley said. “And I’m hoping that we can figure out a way to have it be trendy to wear a mask.”

Emergency Manager Rick Hudson said creating a culture of safety is the method for success. He said he and the city’s police chief, Jason Schermerhorn, periodically visit businesses and ask how the city can help.

“And every time we go down there, you see them wearing masks, you see the signs that are in their windows. And so they’re creating a great culture of society right now. And I believe it’s pretty good,” Hudson said.

He said it may become a challenge to maintain the safety precautions over time. He has already noticed some restaurants become more relaxed.

However, he said safety is constantly being reinforced through signs posted around the city featuring elk and bunnies wearing masks.

Hudson said the city is also getting thousands of masks from Clatsop County. The city will pass the masks out for free to businesses this week and to residents at the end of the month.

“We’re keeping the businesses running the city working,” he said. “So we’re pretty happy with maintaining those practices, and we’re constantly trying to reinvent the next way to figure it out.”

Patrick Nofield, the president of Escape Lodging in Cannon Beach, has noticed a lack of safety measures being taken by tourists. But he said guests, for the most part, appreciate the precautions being taken by the lodging industry and value hotels and restaurants that have health and safety at the top of mind.

Escape Lodging manages a number of hotels in Seaside and Cannon Beach, as well as restaurants, including the Driftwood Restaurant & Lounge and Tom’s Fish & Chips. Although the hotels are operating at full capacity, Nofield said revenue is down by 20% from this time last year.

“All we need to do is see a spike and it’s going to ruin it. It’s going to just shut us down again, and we’re doing everything we can to avoid that and be respectful of our community,” he said.

Nofield said hotels have limited services to protect the safety of guests and employees.

Employees try to set the tone by wearing masks and cleaning and disinfecting high-touch areas throughout the day.

“Some of the guests come here and they’re thinking, ‘I’m away from my reality.’ And they’re in Cannon Beach and they kind of let loose a little bit. And I don’t know how to keep top of mind for them,” he said.