Good news: Surrounding businesses expect customer boost

MONTEREY >> Businesses along the Monterey Peninsula were popping Champagne corks Tuesday on the news that the Monterey Bay Aquarium is reopening beginning in May.

The reopening is important for businesses citywide, as it’s what Monterey City Manager Hans Uslar calls one of the major pillars of the region’s tourism industry.

“The aquarium has the role of being the center anchor of tourism in Monterey along with Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Wharf,” Uslar said. “It definitely pulls visitors to the Peninsula, along with our special events like Car Week and the Big Sur Marathon.”

The Monterey County hospitality industry alone generates nearly $3 billion in annual visitor spending and employs 25,000 people, according to data from the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“Monterey Bay Aquarium is a cornerstone tourism asset for our destination both nationally and globally,” said Rob O’Keefe, president and CEO at the Visitors Bureau. “Its reopening sends

a signal to travelers and, once open, creates a major economic ripple effect that benefits all hospitality businesses, their employees and our community.”

The effects the aquarium has on businesses can’t be overstated. It brings roughly 2 million people through its doors in normal years. Those people shop on Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Wharf, purchase wine from local vintners and eat at myriad restaurants in the region.

Frank Geisler, chief executive of the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, said the reopening will have a critically important effect on businesses, not only for Monterey but regionally as well. The pandemic has been a disaster for businesses, Geisler said, with many having closed permanently.

“The opening of the aquarium is paramount,” he said. “Everything from hotels and retail shops to golf courses and the race track will benefit. It will impact the entire region.”

So will whale watching. Certainly, visitors taking in the displays of marine wildlife at the aquarium would be prone to jump on a whale-watching boat to see the wildlife of the bay for themselves.

“The aquarium will bring more people to the area and many of those people will come see us,” said Nancy Black, a marine biologist and owner of Monterey Bay Whale Watch.

The aquarium is part of the fabric of the Monterey Bay Area economy, a key player that connects and influences most businesses in the region, and particularly along Cannery Row that shares the same street as the aquarium.

“The re-opening of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is an exciting sign that Monterey County is heading in the right direction toward recovery from the challenges of this past year,” said Erik Uppman, vice president of marketing for the Cannery Row Co. “We look forward to welcoming aquarium visitors back to enjoy our shops, awardwinning restaurants and hotels on Cannery Row.”