See Monterey Opening - August 28, 2025

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Carmel-by-the-Sea. 

We have more than 350 people gathering here at the beautiful Sunset Cultural Center today. That’s an amazing 80% increase from last year’s event which I thought was a great turnout. And knowing that all of you invested the time to find a parking spot in Carmel—it’s clear how important this conversation is for our region’s future. 

A big thank you to Rob O’Keefe and the See Monterey team for hosting us. I think of Rob as our Air Traffic Controller of destination marketing. With a brand-new airport opening and 1,000 new hotel rooms coming online in the next few years, opportunities and challenges are circling our skies. Rob’s role is to keep those visitors, events, and our budgets—from colliding,and to guide us safely and collaboratively so every community has a smooth landing.

As Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea,I represent a shrinking and aging village of about 3,200 residents, many of them part-time. Yet our tiny downtown has hundreds of businesses and it is often filled with thousands of visitors. Tourism not only fuels our economy. By some measures it IS our economy, but it also strains our streets, businesses, and public services.Our village sees the benefits and the pressures every single day.

Car Week captured this perfectly.It’s a world-class showcase that excites enthusiasts, fills hotels, and drives revenue for some of our businesses. But it also brings noise, congestion, and safety concerns and that weighs heavily on our residents and city staff. It teaches us a clear lesson: it’s not just about bringing more people—it’s about bringing the right people, those who come as respectful guests, and in numbers that we can support.

And that’s not just a Carmel challenge. Across the Peninsula, every community is asking: How do we protect what makes our towns special while still sustaining the vitality that tourism provides?

The reality is, budgets are tight and next year every city will be sharpening their pencils. Residents are asking us tough questions about congestion, parking, and visitor impacts. Bottom line: Marketing dollars will be facing close scrutiny.

That’s where See Monterey comes in. It’s not about if we market—it’s about how we market. Smarter, more targeted strategies can help us attract the kind of visitors who sustain our businesses and respect the character of our communities. And without regional leadership, problems don’t go away—they just shift from one city to another.

No community can manage this alone. Just as Carmel partners with Monterey and Pacific Grove on public safety, we must also work together on tourism. See Monterey is the partner that helps us collaborate, keeping tourism a strength, not a destabilizing force.

So thank you for leaning into this conversation, for the work you do every day, and for your commitment to keeping our region vibrant.

And now, it’s my honor to introduce someone who deeply understands these challenges and has been a steadfast advocate for regional cooperation—our District 5 Supervisor, and Carmel resident, Kate Daniels.