Monterey County getting influx of tourism

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- A mix of warm weather and spring break have brought tourists out to Monterey County.

“To see it now rebounding as it is and to see family travel just back in place and people enjoying time with their families I think is really gratifying. I feel great to be in this business," said Cathy Faber, Director of Sales and Marketing of InterContinental the Clement Monterey.

Some people who work on Cannery Row said that business has really been picking up coming out of the pandemic.

“We’ve had our best year, in 15 years," said Noelle Nichols, Finance Manager for the Monterey Peninsula Art Foundation.

Spring Break and new business renovations have helped attract people back to the popular tourist spot.

“Business has been nothing short of amazing. Spring break was extended probably 3 to 4 weeks in duration," said Faber. "The aquarium opening 'Into the Deep’ concurrently with some of that was even more monumental.”

According to the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau MCCVB, Spring break for surrounding schools brought in good numbers for the local hotels.

The biggest driver for tourism during the spring break season was the Sea Otter Classic bicycling festival.

During the past two weeks, occupancy surpassed numbers from before the pandemic for the first time.

The average daily rate ADR has remained at about 40% over 2019.

"I've seen it evolve through what we thought was the world's worst economy in 2008," said Faber. "Many other situations of difficulty and challenge but nothing quite like the pandemic for certain."

Some businesses have noticed that most of the tourists this season have traveled from closer towns compared to internationally like years in the past.

“I think people are spending more locally although we still do have people international come in every day," said Nichols. "I’ve also noticed that people are coming in from Marina, from Santa Cruz, and from San Francisco.”

The recent uptick in business has made the coming months look promising.

“The summer is looking robust and frankly we’re almost up as a destination to 2019 levels," said Faber. "2019 was the U.S. Open year, so to say that we’re back to those kind of levels is astonishing.”