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OC Push for Chinese Tourists Plays in Beijing

The Orange County Visitors Association will open a second sales office in China, targeting the capital of the Asian nation for the next phase of its marketing there.

The trade group—which is funded by members of the hospitality community, including destination marketing organizations, hotels and theme parks—opened a sales office in Shanghai earlier this year.

“These are the two major cities where business is done both for tourism, as well as the commercial world in China, and when you have limited resources you start in the strongest markets,” said OCVA Chief Executive Ed Fuller.

Official word on an office in Beijing was slated for Oct. 14 at one of the stops on the itinerary of the 15-member OCVA delegation that’s using a number of tactics to promote OC to business travel agencies and tour operators in China.

The OCVA wants to differentiate itself from Los Angeles in its bid to draw international tourists—many of whom are unfamiliar with Southern California and commonly lump Orange County with its counterpart to the north.

The China trade sales mission received big exposure recently when it was announced on a webcam in Times Square. The country is a major focus for the OCVA and other groups, which see a big opportunity in the recent easing of U.S. visa restrictions and China’s growing middle class.

“China continues to be our single best opportunity, and we are determined to ensure that those Chinese visitors who are interested in discovering California know about Orange County and all the wonderful attractions and activities we have to offer,” OCVA Chair Gary Sherwin said in a release.

Special 2014 room rates for guests from China staying at select OC hotels was also announced with news of the opening of the Beijing office.

The promotional deal will be offered at 28 OC hotels in cities such as Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Tustin, Newport Beach, Buena Park and Dana Point.

An earlier package of discounted room rates was released this year, but the program did not have as many hotel participants.

“This is really our play in the market,” Fuller said. “We had always programmed to put out our first full set of hotel and destination packages so that we can start marketing them, and that’s what these [sales offices] are for, to market to various wholesalers.”

The special rates are offered across all price tiers, ranging from $50 a night per person at the Buena Park Hotel & Suites to $695 a night per person at the Montage Laguna Beach.

Most of the rates include breakfast for two and tax.

A Chinese-language website is also set for launch in the first quarter of 2014 and will be aimed directly at consumers.

The site will highlight OC attractions, events and activities.

“We know for a fact that a large preponderance of the new and especially young Chinese—the new emerging middle class of China—likes to look at the Internet to understand the destination and the site, and then they still go back to their travel agent to book the trip,” Fuller said. “There’s not a huge number of Chinese who buy their reservations direct, but it is a growing market.”

The China mission is scheduled to conclude Oct. 16.

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