Are you traveling this Memorial Day? Or has $6 for a gallon of gas got you staying close to home? Pam Marino here, wondering what this holiday weekend will be like in terms of visitors to Monterey County.
I’ll be interested to see if the price of gas keeps travelers away, or if the cost of airfare convinces some inland Californians to choose a car trip to the coast instead. AAA officials seem to think we’ll still be driving—they forecast 39.1 million Americans will holiday by auto this year, up slightly from last year, making up 87 percent of all Memorial Day travelers.
Big Sur has already seen a big influx of travelers so far this year since Highway 1 fully opened five months ago on Jan. 14, according to Caltrans. Last Friday, May 15, Caltrans officials gathered with Big Sur business owners and elected officials at Ragged Point, at the southern end of Big Sur, to celebrate the influx of visitors and income, as well as kick off the "unofficial start of California’s travel season.”
The estimated influx of travelers along the state’s iconic Highway 1 after three years of closure is huge. Visit California estimates that northbound traffic at Ragged Point has grown 900 percent year-over-year.
Local business owners describe what took place in January as an “on switch” effect, Caltrans reports. Year-to-date guest counts at restaurants and retail establishments are up by about 40 percent. Peak weekends are nearly double last year’s levels.
Lodging occupancy rates in Big Sur in February and March reached 80 percent and 96 percent respectively, up from 70 and 85 percent last year. Looking ahead, hotel revenue is expected to pace 108-percent ahead of last year over the next 12 months and 200-percent above the 2025 levels for the travel season March through August.
“The robust and sustained increase in visitation is allowing our business, employees and larger community to recover rapidly from the three-year closure,” said Kirk Gafill, owner of Nepenthe. He reports a 45-percent increase in guest volume since January.
While businesses and residents depend on the money that tourists bring, it’s brought hefty challenges too. The impact of tourists has become especially taxing at Bixby Bridge. On Tuesday, May 19, a majority of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors agreed there needs to be a parking ban at Bixby Bridge, although when that moratorium will begin has not been decided yet. (It will not take effect before Memorial Day, as Supervisor Kate Daniels had hoped.)
Many first responders, Big Sur advocates and hospitality workers spoke in favor of the parking ban. Even See Monterey CEO Rob O’Keefe and Devin McConnell of Visit California were in favor of the ban on parking at one of the most photographed bridges in the world. (I recommend you read the full story about the decision by my colleague Katie Rodriguez.)
So here we are, just emerging from the local challenge of a closed major highway to be hit with an international challenge of high gas prices. From a tourism industry perspective, this summer will be interesting.