Along the Big Sur coast, local businesses say they're seeing an economic comeback following the full reopening of Highway 1 earlier this year.
"Highway 1 is a lifeline to Ragged Point, so when they opened up the road, it was like opening up the tap, and it feels like it was never really closed, so we feel very grateful," said Jim Ramey, Ragged Point Inn General Manager.
The area known as Regent's Slide reopened back in January, after a massive landslide shut down the road for nearly three years.
Since then, northbound traffic at Ragged Point has grown more than 900% year-over-year, according to Visit California.
An event to celebrate was held on Friday at the Ragged Point Inn.
"Tourism is a $150 billion economy in California, but Big Sur is a place like no other, so we give tens of millions into the billions of dollars to California's economy, which is incredibly important," said Dawn Addis, District 30 State Assemblymember.
"Last year, we broke visitation records in San Luis Obispo County with 7.7 million visitors. The industry employs more than 24,000 people, so it's vital. This connection along Highway 1 is vital," said Cathy Cartier, President/CEO of Visit SLO CAL.
"What we're seeing is, we look at events like the World Cup coming to California and the Olympics when they're coming to California — international visitors will spend several weeks when they come to those events, and they will drive along this iconic highway, and they will eat in our restaurants, they'll stay in our hotels, they'll shop in our local businesses, so for us, it's just vital to the economic impact here in the county."
According to Visit SLO CAL, San Simeon saw a 37% increase in occupancy in February, and mid-March weekly data shows occupancy increases of 25% in Cambria, 43% in San Simeon, and 9% countywide.
