Tourism brings in more money than ever before to Monterey County

A new report shows Monterey County is raking in the money from tourism. Travel spending spiked nearly 6% last year, which is the eighth year in a row the county has seen an increase.

“The Midwest, the East Coast and in those markets it’s a vacation. They’re staying longer and they’re doing more,” Monterey County visitors bureau chief marketing officer Rob O’Keefe said. “There’s more to do here than people in the past may have realized, and we’re marketing that message.”

Even though tourism is the Peninsula’s No. 1 industry, few workers can afford to actually live on the coast.

In Monterey specifically, hospitality and food service jobs represent about a fifth of the jobs in the city. However, not all those workers can afford it.

“The rental properties are becoming very expensive, so most of my employees either live in Seaside or Marina,” owner of London Bridge Pub John Eales said.

Eales owns two restaurants in Monterey, and says he’s not sure if it’s all because of living costs, but hiring employees has become more difficult the last few years.

“Had employees thinking they were living the dream with the view of the ocean everyday. After a few months they’ve realized they can’t afford to live here, because they’re not making enough tips,” Eales said.

The latest census bureau numbers show about 28,000 people live in the city of Monterey, but just under 4,000 both live and work in the city.

The city manager says that’s likely because about 20 percent of their city is retired and children make up another chunk of the population.

The lack of affordable housing presents more challenges for workers in the tourism industry.

“They may take on a second job just for the summer,” Eales said.

And this while tourist spending is on the rise and contributed almost $3 billion dollars to the county last year.

“We’re targeting people who will treat a trip here to Monterey County as a bigger overall vacation…for the greater community whether you work in tourism or not we’re benefiting from the tune of $135 million left here for community development,” O’Keefe said.