Orange County’s tourism industry is likely to see slow going next year after a record-breaking 2005 and a healthy 2006.
Next year should bring scant growth of about 1% in visitors, who are expected to number 48.9 million, according to forecasts at the recent Southern California Visitor Industry Outlook Conference in Los Angeles.
This year, the number of visitors is expected to decline 1%, an anticipated drop after Disneyland’s 50th anniversary push peaked in 2005 and wrapped up this past September.
The good news: Tourism spending could rise another 3% to 5% next year to $28 billion regionally, according to San Diego-based CIC Research Inc. OC could see about $8.2 billion in spending.
Healthy convention attendance and strong coastal hotel occupancy should bolster spending. Positive signs for next year include growth in big Anaheim conventions and some stability in gas prices,a key factor for regional visitors who are the bread and butter of OC’s tourism industry.
“2007 will be a great year for Anaheim,” said Charles Ahlers, president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau.
The city expects to see its convention attendance increase by 45% next year, he said.
“The only thing propping up business travel now is the meetings and convention business,” said Suzanne Cooke, research director for Washington, D.C.-based Travel Industry Association.
Local hotel occupancy is expected to grow just 2.5% in 2007, with room rates climbing 5% to a countywide average of $89.56, according to Los Angeles-based PKF Consulting.
The number of hotel rooms is expected to increase by 2% in 2007.
Several hotel projects in the works are set to finish in 2008, adding about 700 hotel rooms.
Next fall, the long-awaited GardenWalk in Anaheim will open its first phase with several restaurants.
The Disneyland Resort is hanging its hat on a new marketing push, Year of a Million Dreams, and a revamped submarine ride that will reopen as the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage early in 2007.
Typically, Disneyland draws about 13 million to 14 million visitors each year and is likely to reach those numbers in 2007. Attendance this year fell by about 7% from July through September after record-setting numbers during the 50th anniversary, according to information presented by Walt Disney Co. executives on a recent conference call.
The Honda Center, formerly Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, plans to add more events in 2007. And if the Anaheim Ducks hockey team continues its torrid pace, OC may benefit from visitors during the NHL playoffs and, possibly, a championship series.
After losing Movieland Wax Museum this year, Buena Park is grappling with ways to enliven its visitor district with restaurants and shops and is exploring more redevelopment near Knott’s Berry Farm.
Knott’s beefed up its Christmas festivities with a parade and other shows but hasn’t indicated plans for major new rides in 2007.
Travelers using John Wayne Airport will begin to see signs of expansion work starting early in 2007. The expansion will add a third terminal with six passenger gates and a Customs office to open the airport to some international flights.
Concerns heading into 2007 include the slowing housing market, fickle consumer confidence and higher interest rates, all of which could influence decisions to travel.
In addition, higher travel costs and ongoing airport travel hassles could keep some visitors away.
Corporate travel management companies expect airfares to rise 6% to 10% next year after going up about 11% in 2006.
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CITY TO WATCH: HUNTINGTON BEACH
Surf City has reinvented itself during the past decade, going from a ’70s-era beach town to a lively and trendy place that strives to cater to residents and visitors alike.
A host of shops, entertainment and restaurants have revitalized downtown. A pier renovation included the Pier Pavilion amphitheater for concerts and other events.
Annual surfing and other sports tournaments bring thousands of visitors to town each year.
In the past two years, the Conference and Visitors Bureau has worked to increase visitor numbers by branding the city as Surf City USA,fighting Santa Cruz along the way.
City government appears to support the efforts to keep Huntington Beach in the limelight.
The City Council has increased the Conference and Visitors Bureau’s funding with a portion of the hotel room tax.
In October, the council approved a $330,000 plan to erect signs at city entry points using the Surf City USA name.
In November, the council voted to try turning Main Street into a pedestrian mall one night each week. That could become permanent, depending on responses from business owners and patrons.
Like other coastal cities, Huntington Beach faces a delicate balance between courting visitors and keeping residents happy.
“We know from research that 92% of residents appreciate tourism and welcome these events,” said Doug Traub, president and chief executive of the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau.
Local surfers might dispute that claim. But so far the city has retained its roots while working to lure visitors.
The recently renovated Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort and new Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa anchor the resort area. The Hyatt’s 52,000 square feet of indoor meeting space,the largest space along the coast,also has brought more group business to town.
The visitors bureau is working to grow the number of beach events during slower tourist times in spring and fall. An additional marathon and air show are in the works, though not finalized.
The restored Bolsa Chica Wetlands reopened this year and may bring another source of tourists: bird-watchers.
Other coastal projects long in the works now are taking shape that will add to the upscale hotel, retail, dining and entertainment options.
A 157-room boutique hotel at the Strand is under construction and set to open spring 2008.
It will be managed by Joie de Vivre Hospitality of San Francisco.
Developed by Los Angeles-based CIM Group, the luxury hotel will be one component of the $90 million development on 3.5 acres linking the beach and downtown.
Newport Beach-based Makar Properties LLC’s 31-acre Pacific City also is under construction.
This project will link the city pier with the Hilton and Hyatt. It will include a 200-room hotel, 191,000 square feet of shops, restaurants and offices and more than 500 condos.
Recently, Newport Beach’s Robert Mayer Corp. received California Coastal Commission approval for a hotel project between the Hilton and Hyatt.
Though in the early stages of permitting and design, the hotel will be built to five-star specifications and may include condos.
,Sandi Cain
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PERSON TO WATCH: CURT PRINGLE
Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle is ready to start his second term as mayor of Orange County’s second-largest city with a lot on his plate.
The makeup of the City Council shifted with the election of Lucille Kring in November, bringing into question whether that will alter the balance of opinion on major issues.
Those issues in-clude a proposed football stadium and the makeup of the Anaheim Re-sort District.
Pringle made his mark during his first term by promoting the redevelopment area called the Platinum Triangle.
At a Visitor & Convention Bureau meeting last summer, Pringle outlined plans for an Anaheim transit center that would be the “largest transit station in Southern California.”
If developed as envisioned, the center could link Anaheim with Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and possibly Las Vegas via high-speed trains.
The Anaheim Arena, part of the city’s Convention Center, completed an exterior remodel and landscaping this year. The city signed a deal with Denver-based Anschutz Entertainment Group to manage entertainment events there. The first concert on Thanksgiving weekend featured Lionel Ritchie.
“You’ll be seeing more such things,” Pringle said.
Anaheim also will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2007.
But everything isn’t coming up roses.
A request to change zoning in a portion of the Anaheim Resort District to build more housing is on the table. Pringle has worried about the effect on the Platinum Triangle, where thousands of condominiums are planned.
And the city’s efforts to lure an NFL team remain in limbo, thanks to the snail’s pace of NFL decision-making.
City land already is entitled for a stadium, plus 750,000 square feet of commercial space.
Pringle remains adamant that Anaheim won’t wait forever for the NFL to decide.
The new council is feeling pressure to make a decision about the 53-acre parcel in light of recently unveiled bids by five developers. One developer has offered $150 million for the land,three times what the NFL would pay.
The Resort District has been lauded for turning the area around Disneyland and the hotels from a haphazard collection of businesses into a tourist hub.
The Platinum Triangle,billed as a triumph of city planning and market forces,is well on its way to turning the area around Angel Stadium of Anaheim into a vibrant area of urban homes, entertainment, dining and shops.
The housing downturn is a potential hiccup for the numerous lofts going up in the area. But Pringle is confident development will continue,though possibly at a slower pace.
,Sandi Cain
