57.5 F
Laguna Hills
Monday, Mar 18, 2024
-Advertisement-

Anaheim set to present tourism safety conference

More than 40 million people are expected to visit Orange County this year, including about 7 million from overseas.

The county is a big draw for visitors in part because of its relatively low crime rate. One way to keep them coming back, tourism officials say, is to make sure OC is a safe destination.

The Anaheim Police Department, Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau and the Anaheim Hotel and Motel Association are working together to present the Southern California Tourism Safety & Security Conference at the Disneyland Hotel on Jan. 26.

The aim of the conference is to focus attention on tourist-oriented policing by exploring ways in which visitor-related crimes can be prevented by police and private security.

“Security is usually the last concern of any (tourist) area,” said Anaheim police officer Dave Wiggins.

Inattention to tourist safety can have an impact on the local economy, as officials in Miami learned in the mid-1990s after two German tourists were killed. Miami lost about 25% of its European visitors after that shooting, and up to 30% of all potential visitors at least initially mentioned concern about safety as a deterrent to visiting there, according to Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau director of marketing and research Bill Anderson.

Here, those same figures would translate to a loss of about 1 million visitors and at least $60 million in related spending.

That’s exactly the kind of scenario that the visitor bureau and Anaheim police hope to avoid. Wiggins, who along with Anaheim Sgt. Paul Dohmann are spearheading conference activities, said Anaheim wants to pinpoint areas of tourist concern and address those before the visitors arrive.

Wiggins and Dohmann recently met with the Japan Travel Bureau in Los Angeles to discuss concerns of the Japanese visitors.

“They were surprised that the police were coming to them,” Wiggins said.

The duo was also invited to explain Anaheim’s Tourist-Oriented Policing at the Hyatt Regency in Los Angeles today, where the Walt Disney Co. is doing a presentation on its new California Adventure theme park in Anaheim.

Tourist-Oriented Policing, dubbed TOPS, first began in Anaheim in 1993, and is considered a niche in crime prevention. Though major tourist markets like Honolulu, Las Vegas and New York have similar efforts, smaller cities like Anaheim, which has a population of about 300,000, generally do not. One that does, however, is Orlando, Fla., which has had a TOPS effort in place since 1986.

“The success of the program has been amazing and the cooperation of the community with the unit has been wonderful,” said Eric Ecole, an Orlando/Orange County Convention and Tourist Bureau spokesperson.

Dohmann said the Orlando program has become a model for the nation. Orlando’s crew, which started with seven officers, has grown to more than 60 today, while Anaheim currently has a staff of 16 assigned to TOPS. Anaheim expects to add officers to the program as new tourist attractions come online. The Orlando tourist area is half again the size of the city of Anaheim, but has only about two-thirds the residents found in Anaheim.

In addition to police bike and equestrian patrols within the Anaheim tourist area and networking with tourism officials, officers conduct monthly safety and security forum meetings for the hotel and motel association. They also staff a police service center at 1500 S. Harbor Blvd. where visitors can seek assistance.

Still under development is a victim advocate program, a public-private partnership effort through which visitors are taken under the wing of hospitality and police professionals when they encounter an emergency while in the area. A new police substation is set to open at Downtown Disney this week.

According to Travel Industry Association research, about 15% of travelers say safety is the most pressing issue facing tourism today. On a yearly basis, there are 127.8 crimes per 1,000 travelers in the U.S.,40% less than for the general public, but still a concern to the industry.

Ann Gallaugher, director of tourism for the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, called the tourist policing efforts an “investment” in OC’s efforts to bring more visitors to the area.

“It’s a selling point for us to help bring tourism growth,” she said.

“Think about it,” said Wiggins, “if you invested $4 billion in your business, wouldn’t you protect it? That’s what we’re trying to do for Anaheim’s investment (in tourism).” n

Want more from the best local business newspaper in the country?

Sign-up for our FREE Daily eNews update to get the latest Orange County news delivered right to your inbox!

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-