Monterey County tourism hits record $3.3 billion, marking full recovery

Monterey County's visitor economy has fully recovered and then some, with travelers spending a record $3.3 billion in the county last year, up 4 percent, according to figures See Monterey released at its annual meeting on Sept. 17.

About 400 people attended the meeting at the Monterey Conference Center, where the destination marketing organization reported $346 million in tax revenue, up 6 percent, and 27,760 tourism-supported jobs. Tourism is the county's second-largest industry after agriculture.

Sailboats crowd the slips at Monterey's Old Fisherman's Wharf. Visitor spending in the county rose 4 percent to $3.3 billion.

King of Hearts / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source

See Monterey CEO Rob O'Keefe framed the numbers against the pandemic collapse. "Remember 2021?" O'Keefe said. "We were really in the basement as a destination, as an industry."

The meeting closed with a performance by 38 Special, playing "Hold on Loosely" for the industry crowd.

A humpback whale surfaces in Monterey Bay, one of the world's premier whale-watching grounds. Tourism is the county's second-largest industry after agriculture.

Chananst / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Source

"These numbers reflect more than growth, they represent an industry delivering real value to Monterey County," Chicourrat said in the See Monterey release.

The organization also pointed to a development pipeline of about 700 new hotel rooms expected by 2030, a sign that investors expect the growth to continue.

A historic Cannery Row building stands along Monterey's former sardine-canning waterfront. About 700 new hotel rooms are expected across the county by 2030.

Sarah Stierch / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Source