Monterey Peninsula tourism trying up says guests bureau

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) The Monterey Peninsula could see a big boom in tourism this year as more people are vaccinated.

The Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau says they forecast positive tourism outlook. Pent-up demand for travel could be a boon to places on the Central Coast.

It was time to leave home for tourists who were fully vaccinated.

“All have been vaccinated and the kids have been given the opportunity to leave school for a few days since Mother’s Day weekend approaches. So I haven’t seen them in a long time,” said Galen McCray, a Eureka resident visiting Monterey Thursday .

While the market won’t fully return for a few years, according to MCCVB, the reopening of key attractions like the Monterey Bay Aquarium is sure to attract more travelers.

“My seven-year-old and four-year-old have never been grandchildren,” said McCray.

The visitor bureau says it wants to focus on bringing back overnight guests first, followed by group travelers and international markets.

They say industrial research firms like Tourism Economics projects, domestic visitor spending in the state will hit 76 percent of 2019 levels this year. It will be 94 percent of the 2019 level in 2022. Total visitor spending this year is likely to reach 87 percent, including global tourists.

Monterey County recorded a loss of nearly $ 2 billion in travel expenses in 2020 alone. This is a decrease of almost 54 percent compared to 2019. Every fourth employee in the hospitality industry in the district also lost their job.

While things look bright now, the pandemic is still looming and it could still be some time before it is completely over.

“I hope it’s over tomorrow. Realistically, until the whole planet is vaccinated. It could be a few years,” McCray said.

Monterey County’s COVID-19 case rate is currently low, and there are about 61 percent of residents who have already received at least their first dose of vaccine.

California will fully reopen on June 15th this year.

PREVIOUS ARTICLE: Monterey County’s Convention and Visitors Bureau Expects Summer Tourism to Boost Across the Country After Vaccinations.

An industry research firm says spending on domestic visitors in California this year will hit 76% of 2019 levels.

Josh Kristianto from KION will have more on KION News this evening at 10pm and 11pm