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2019 GUEST & COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTSBUILDING A FUTUREFOR THE OCEAN

The year in reviewWhile Monterey County continues to enjoy top billing as a must-seedestination in California, we — like all areas whose economies relyheavily on tourism — find ourselves in unprecedented times. Withthe coronavirus pandemic severely impacting leisure travel,we’re having to find new ways to engage our audiences with thecounty’s superb natural beauty and inspiring, charming andhistorical places to visit.Prior to the shelter-in-place order, the Aquarium’s ongoing marketresearch indicated visitor satisfaction related to MontereyCounty was stable or improving in most areas, and most ratingswere very good. Following the order, research continues to show thatthe Aquarium remains top of mind with our key audiences and intentto visit remains very strong. People do intend to come back whenthey are again able to do so.

THE YEAR IN REVIEWLooking back at 2019, the Aquarium’s attendance was on projectionwith a total of over 1.9 million visitors. In addition to excellentattendance, we celebrated exciting achievements in our key programareas of live exhibits, ocean conservation, research and education: We opened our new Bechtel Family Center for Ocean Education andLeadership. The center allows us to develop innovative and effectivenew ways to engage rising generations — and their teachers. Aquarium scientists published a study confirming how our uniquesea otter surrogacy program bolsters the wild otter population,which in turn restores balance to marine ecosystems. We welcomed African penguin hatchlings Tule and Piper. To date, we’veraised 10 chicks as part of an accredited species breeding program. We created a new blended language program and specialvolunteer group, “Naturalistas,” who serve a growing numberof Latinx visitors. Seafood Watch celebrated its 20th year. The program began asa consumer guide to sustainable seafood and is now global in itsscope and influence. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums gave Seafood Watchits William G. Conway International Conservation Award, whichrecognizes exceptional efforts to preserve habitats, restorespecies and support biodiversity. A pioneering study by scientists from the Aquarium and theMonterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute that documentedmicroplastic pollution in Monterey Bay is having real-worldimpacts in the fight to reduce ocean plastic pollution, includingvisionarystate legislation that offers a solution as big asthe problem. Our corporate events program achieved CarbonNeutral certification, part of our commitment to increase energyefficiency, use renewable energy and reduce event waste.The certification also allows attendees to offset the emissionsfrom their travel to the Aquarium and their hotel stays.As always, we’re proud of these achievements and the many wayswe’re working together with our community.Given the uncharted waters we find ourselves in, we’re taking aslightly different approach to this publication. We’re going to sharesome key facts and trends from our 2019 market research dataand insights from our social media outreach. We’ll also tell youhow we’ve shifted our approach due to the Aquarium’s closure,and share the results we’re seeing.Thank you to our community partners that make so muchof what we do possible.

OUR VISITORSAttendance, demographics& visitation informationWe’ve seen significant growth since 2010 in attendance by visitorswith incomes over 300,000, while maintaining steady attendance byvisitors with incomes of 50,000 or less. In 2019, our national, digitalsearch-based advertising campaign continued to increase visitationby people with incomes of 300,000 or more.Our robust affordable access programs ensure that we remainaccessible for all audiences. Through them, we’ve maintained strongattendance by visitors with incomes of 50,000 or less. Each year, weoffer free admission to more than 100,000 people who wouldn’t otherwisebe able to afford to visit.The digital search-based campaign continues to run during the Aquarium’sclosure at a much reduced level to ensure we maintain market share andtop-of-mind recognition among future visitors. We expect that our economicrecovery will rely heavily on higher income households likely to be leastaffected by the economic impact of the pandemic and indicate they willtravel as soon as they’re able. When we are able to reopen, we will rampthe campaign up to drive visitation to the Aquarium and the destination.HOUSEHOLDINCOME OFGUESTS5%11%15%5% 300K 28%23% 200K 299,999 100K 199,99930%27%26%29%20102019 50K 99,999 0 49,999

OUR VISITORSWe’resuccessfullyattractingyoung people.More than55%of visitors were betweenthe ages of 18 and 34.Our research shows thata young audience is a diverse audience.This is borne out in our ethnicity data.

OUR VISITORSALL ADULT GUESTSEthnicity ofadult guestsOver the years, we haveinvested in specific programsand strategies to make theAquarium a welcoming placefor visitors of all ethnicbackgrounds. We’re makingprogress as our visitordemographics reflect moreclosely the diverse populationof the State of California.CALIFORNIA’S ETHNIC MAKEUPADULT CALIFORNIA GUESTS12%16%15%9%18%49%21%39%20%37%39%25%WHITE NON-HISPANICFor more than 10 years we’ve beentesting our advertising creative toensure that it appeals to a broad,diverse audience and it appears thatdue diligence is having a positive effect.HISPANICASIANOTHER

OUR VISITORSGuest satisfactionOur Overall Satisfaction ratingsfor the Aquarium experiencewere the highest ever in 2019.This was due primarily to asignificant increase in ratingsfor entertainment experience.All other ratings remainedexcellent with the exceptionof the two over which theAquarium does not havecontrol: parking and easeof access.Our national, digitalsearch-based advertisingcampaign* achieved theseresults in Monterey County:262Kroom nights 60.3 millionspent on lodging 33 millionspent on retail 34.5 millionspent on foodand beverage 128 millionoverall tourism dollars 11.6 millionin tax revenues(sales tax and TOT)*Launched in 2011; runs year-round.

OUR VISITORSWhere are they coming from?5%27%Monterey County(47% decrease over 2018)San Francisco Bay Area(12% decrease over 2018)33%35%Other California(13.8% increase over 2018)Percent of adult domestic visitorsto the Monterey Bay AquariumOther United States(9.3% increase over 2018)

OUR OUTREACHSocial media trendsand metricsThe Aquarium has always enjoyed strong engagementwith our digital content.Since our closure in early March of 2020, we’ve seen anincredible increase in interest and interaction. Our strategyon social media during our closure remains largely thesame, though we’ve increased our live streaming content andpresence of staff who care for our animals. We’ve also rampedup donation requests to offset the loss of earned revenue fromticket sales.

OUR OUTREACHGreater access to our 10 webcams on additional platforms hasbeen tremendously popular and accounts for 80 percent of ourweb traffic.Audiences are looking for ways to connect with their favoritecultural organizations and travel destinations while they’re unableto visit. With the social media team working from home, we’veinvolved more Aquarium staff working onsite to develop content,which has provided new, unique perspectives on Aquarium life thatthe public is loving. The webcams, along with behind-the-scenescontent from our Animal Care team, have proven to be audiencefavorites. Some things have not changed and gorgeous photosof our location are still among our most popular posts acrossall platforms.We’ve also seen growth in followers on our social platforms:more than 200,000 across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube,Twitch, Tumblr and TikTok. And the growth in engagement has beeneven greater — 4.4 million engagements (on Facebook, Twitter,Instagram and LinkedIn), nearly three times higher thanthe previous period (January and February).In the six weeks following our closure, we welcomed2.5 million people to our website — five times the trafficfor the same period last year.

OUR OUTREACHSocial care is crucialSocial care — responding to commentsand questions on our feeds — hasalways been a critical part of ourcommitment to customer service. Inthis time, it’s more important thanever with the social media team actingas the public’s lifeline to their favoriteanimals and exhibits as well as forthose looking for educational materialsfor children home from school.That attentiveness has, no doubt,contributed to the remarkable increasein audience engagement and growth.FB post w/comments

OUR COMMUNITY2019 community impactsat a glanceWe’re proud to collaborate with and support our local community.Our culinarypartner, SSA, bought15KPOUNDSof locallycaught seafood.Sixteen new EV chargingstations* eliminated9.5 TONS46%of carbon emissions.*Thank you for the grants, Monterey Bay Air Resource Board!We admitted107Klow income visitorsfree of charge.of our staffused alternativetransportationto get to work.98 employeesbike to work25 use electric bikes

OUR COMMUNITYEducationWith the Bechtel Education Centerhaving opened its doors in spring2019, our free education programsserved 90,000 schoolchildren,400 teens and 1,400 teachers. Onaverage, 30 percent of school fieldtrip visits are from Monterey, SantaCruz and San Benito counties.The “For Educators” section of ourwebsite saw over 212,000 pageviews in the six weeks after ourclosure in mid-March. On March 24we launched a “Learning at Home”section that has received over160,000 page views and over20,000 enrollments in new digitallearning programs as of May 28.Learningat homeSince our closurein mid-Marchwe’ve seen over20Kenrollmentsin new digitallearning programs.

OUR COMMUNITYEnsuring accessfor allTo ensure that we can inspirepeople of all income levels topractice conservation of the ocean,we offered free access through fourprograms in 2019.Free to LearnFree to Learn13,841Shelf to Shore46,634Student OceanStewards1,845partnering with nonprofit organizationsShelf to Shorepartnering with county and city librariesStudent Ocean Stewardspartnering with CSUMB, Hartnell Collegeand MPCCommunity Open Housefirst week in December for Tri-County residentsCommunityOpen House42,677Total served*106,997*Data from 2019

OUR COMMUNITYCertified California green businessIn 2019, we received certification as a California Green Business,having completed an audit of our business operations and maderecommended changes. We’re committed to achieving net-zerogreenhouse gas emissions, net-zero waste and environmentallysustainable sourcing of seafood and produce by 2025.Key practices include: operating an effective heat exchange and recovery program sourcing 100 percent renewable energy from solar and windfrom Monterey Bay Community Power investing in carbon sequestration projects to offset anyremaining emissions composting all food waste from our restaurant, catering andanimal care operations starting zero-waste office coffee carts and office composting eliminating all single-use plastics from our business operations sourcing locally grown produce to serve in our restaurant andto our animals