Carmel and Tourism

Carmel-by-the-Sea is an internationally known destination, that we all benefit, especially from the dollars those visit leave behind by staying at our hotels, eating at our restaraunts, and enjoying galleries, theaters, shops, etc. Visitors also bring diversity and potential future residents as they like what they see enough to move in. We all welcome visitors and share the bounty of what nature brings, our history, our culture, our architecture, and everything our predicessors helped create.

However, similar to past decades, residents have growing concerns on tourism impacts to our Village. Word of mouth (especially social media) has been key in sharing the bounty of this city we call home. While as residents, we also have a responsibility to protect and preserve what surrounds us - for future decades of residents and visitors to come.

This page compiles many recent topics, public meetings, news and considerations to be explored in the months ahead.

Recent Tourism Challenges In The Press

HERE is a Daily Mail 6/24/26 article "Gorgeous coastal hideaway pulls plug on its $300k tourist fund because locals don't want any more people visiting"
HERE is a NYPost 6/22/26 article "Paradise California enclave locked in bitter civil war as vital $300,000 suddenly pulled"
HERE is a SFGate 6/21/26 article "Carmel already slammed this summer, pauses tourist spending"
HERE is a NBC Palm Springs 6/20/26 article "Carmel-by-the-Sea Halts $292,000 Tourism Marketing Budget Amid Resident Outcry Over Overtourism"
HERE is Carmel Pine Cone 6/19/26 issue - letter to the editor on page 26 from Bobby Richards regarding fact based tourism management.
HERE is a CBS New video report 6/18/26 "Monterey Peninsula officials question whether tourism push needs to be eased back" with Janine Chiccourat and others quoted
HERE is a KSBW article 6/18/26 article "Carmel delays tourism funding as residents voice concerns about overcrowding"
HERE is a Carmel Pine Cone 6/12/26 cover article "Council OKs $41.5M budget but excludes tourism spending"
HERE is a Monterey Weekly 6/11/26 article "The Carmel Council punts on marketing to allay residents fed up with tourism."
HERE is a KSBW article 6/5/26 article "Carmel voters to decide on hotel and sales tax increases"
HERE is a CBS New Report 5/6/26 article "Overtourism too much of a good thing"
HERE is a Ground News article April 2026 "Before the crowds take over these beach towns shine"

Marketing of Carmel-by-the-Sea
During our Village FY Budget cycle on May 5 2026, each of these relevant organizations presented and spoke to how they focus their marketing to physically distant and ideally overnight visitors, as below
20260505-Carmel Chamber Presentation.pdf
20260505-Visit Carmel PPT .pdf
20260505-See Monterey Destination Marketing.pdf

Challenges of Tourism

When you read from the many articles and books written about our Village history, and many articles authored by CRA in the Voice and its prior publications - tourism has been a concern for at least 50 years or more. (See CRA's Carmel Reading webpage HERE). Two recent issues of the CRA Voice - also touch on these tourism challenges HERE and HERE.