Mixed tourist scene

The numbers from the Central Coast, where we spent the last few days, are down but not terrible. The California Travel and Tourism Commission reported that August revenue per available hotel room in San Luis Obispo County was down almost 9 percent compared with a year earlier. Year to date, the decline was 6 percent (San Luis Obispo Tribune). Of course, the big problem for hotels, both up there and down here, is not so much vacancy levels, but heavy discounting. Our own unscientific survey shows a mixed picture - attendance at Hearst Castle is down, but both the visitors' center and the tours were actually pretty full. Lots of internationals.