We’re fully expecting more records to be broken in 2022.
In 2021, Monterey Car Week returned after a one year hiatus due to the covid pandemic. When it came back, the results from attendance and auction results broke records. Not only did it break records, it pumped tons of funds into the economy. As we look forward to the 2022 event, local officials are releasing early predictions about the No. 1 economic engine on the Monterey Peninsula.
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“We anticipate upwards of more than 85,000 visitors,” Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Rob O’Keefe said in an email. “In 2019, Car Week generated over $67 million. While international visitation, an important audience because they stay longer and spend more, isn’t back to pre-pandemic levels, we are seeing a bigger increase with the return of this audience.”
The chamber of commerce tourist information center in Pacific Grove is responsible for keeping track of where people are traveling from, and Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jenny MacMurdo shares that they’ve had a general uptick in visitors.
“We’ve seen an uptick in general of foreign travelers to our area and expect a lot will come now that travel bans have been mostly lifted,” said MacMurdo.
The hotels in the area had very little capacity left at the time of their comment, a little more than a week prior to the start of the event. Hotels had reported that a collective 5 rooms were still available at that time, and unlikely still available at the time of this article.
Restaurants and stores in the area are fully staffed and ready for the influx of visitors. “We are fully staffed, I’m happy to say. We’ve been that way for a while and have been very fortunate,” said Jim Culcasi, owner of Rosine’s Restaurant in downtown Monterey.
Stay tuned as we follow the Monterey Car Week, including the highly anticipated Broad Arrow Auctions Monterey Jet Center Auction.
