The California Division of Tourism last week designated MainPlace mall as the location for one of two new California Welcome Centers to be opened this year.
The Santa Ana Welcome Center will be the 10th in a statewide network of visitor centers that provide travel planning services to tourists. The center, which will be at the southwest corner of the mall near Robinsons-May, is expected to be open before Thanksgiving, according to MainPlace senior marketing manager Judith Bijlani.
The other center slated for opening this year will be in Yucca Valley.
The Santa Ana center will be operated by MainPlace in cooperation with the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau. It will have its own entrance and will be visible from the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway, Bijlani said.
California Division of Tourism’s Fred Sater called it an “ideal location,” given that shopping is now the most popular activity for tourists.
“All the centers are near major thoroughfares, so this was a natural,” Sater said.
The center is expected to generate about 180,000 visits per year from both shoppers and visitors passing through the area. Bijlani said the center will make an effort to showcase local attractions that aren’t necessarily in the “top 10” most-visited places in the area.
MainPlace, along with the Tourism Council and Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, had long lobbied for a center in Orange County.
The California Welcome Center program was launched in 1995 by the Division of Tourism. Eight other centers, all funded by the private sector, are in operation and were visited by more than 380,000 travelers last year.
About 40 million visitors came to Orange County last year and spent about $6 billion.
