SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) – Santa Cruz County announced it has reached a 135% recovery rate for 2023, the highest post-pandemic recovery rate of any county in California.
Visitors like Eric Bemest, traveling from Tucson, Arizona, returned 11 years ago and brought his wife along to experience the site.
“In California we eat out a lot, we stop in to eat, but we don’t buy a lot of stuff. We might buy a couple of T-shirts, but that’s it,” Bemest said.
Last year, tourists spent $1.4 billion at hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions in the county, and restaurants like Gilda’s on the pier are feeling the impact.
“We’ve gotten busy at unexpected times and it feels like it’s challenging us to grow and get better at what we do,” says Gildas manager Alisha Dodds.
Santa Cruz County announced that state and local tax revenue generated by tourism is expected to reach about $123 million in 2023.
Kamal, owner of Aqua Breeze Inn, expects more tourists in the summer and hopes the trend will continue.
“There always seems to be a correlation between when the kids are out of school and when the boardwalk is open,” says Kamal Narang, owner of the Aqua Breeze Inn. “We have other customers, we get a few people here and there, but it really depends on the families that come to the boardwalk.”
As Memorial Day weekend approaches, restaurants, shops and hotels are preparing to open for the busy season.
“We’ve been stockpiling extra supplies and we’ve also made some recent hires so we have enough staff to provide the best possible service,” Dodds said. “We’ve ordered extra crayons and printed extra ones for all the kids so we feel pretty prepared.”
Businesses and hotels spoke to KION about how they’re preparing for this weekend and the coming months.
Tourism in the county is expected to continue to grow after the Santa Cruz City Council approved the construction of a new hotel in the area.
