The collapse of Orange County’s subprime mortgage industry may have been a fender-bender for the local economy, but the tourism industry is poised for another healthy summer likely to add dollars to city and county coffers.
New attractions at Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, the city of Anaheim’s 150th anniversary, the 75th anniversary of the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach and newly hip hotels throughout the county figure to entice tourists to OC.
“Orange County will have (some) drag from the subprime fallout, but most of the economy is in decent shape,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.
The impact of high summer gas prices remains to be seen on an area largely dependent on the drive-in market, but there are plenty of enticements in the works to lure visitors.
“It’s looking like a stellar year,” said Doug Traub, president and chief executive of the Huntington Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau.
One factor likely to keep the tourism motor running was last month’s Pow Wow convention in Anaheim,an annual travel trade show staged by Washington, D.C.-based Travel Industry Association.
Pow Wow, which drew 4,700 attendees and 300 international media, was expected to generate $350 million in future bookings to Southern California (see related story, page 86).
“That kind of visibility in our backyard is a huge plus,” said Bob Tucker, a spokesman for the Disneyland Resort.
Another plus, Tucker said, will be hosting the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, which will meet at the Disneyland Hotel this month. “Having 300 or so top writers in the U.S. in Anaheim heading into summer is a good thing,” he said.
A weakened dollar also may entice more international travelers to visit.
The St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa in Dana Point saw some evidence of that last year.
“We had a lot more Europeans,including Russians,coming for stays of 10 days or more last year,” said general manager Johnny So. Travelers from the U.K. and Middle East also stopped on their way to or from Hawaii.
Last year, 44.9 million people visited OC. Just 6% of them were international visitors.
“Hopefully, Pow Wow will reverse that trend,” said Charles Ahlers, president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau.
“We’re confident they liked what they saw while they were here,” he said.
Another boost might come from the newly launched lifestyle magazine, The OCeanfront, published by OCR Magazines. Inspired by the marketing consortium of coastal resorts by the same name, the publication printed 150,000 copies for its first run and plans to highlight the OC lifestyle beyond the reality TV shows. It will be distributed at participating OCeanfront resorts and shopping destinations and via direct mail to targeted markets.
Visitors last year spent $8 billion, with the biggest chunk spent on meals, beverages and lodging. Another 24% was spent shopping,a fact not lost on places like South Coast Plaza, which bills itself a “shopping resort” and promotes heavily to out-of-town markets,partly through the OCeanfront consortium.
Though spring break business just ended a few weeks ago, area hoteliers throughout Orange County say they’re seeing positive signs for summer.
“We’re on pace with prior years in pre-booking,” said Blaise Bartell, general manager of the Surf & Sand Resort in Laguna Beach. “Our (daily rate) is up 10% from last year and it’s still on pace,” he said. The business is coming from luxury clients, business travelers and individual tourists, he said.
Another indication of a strong summer is the performance of John Wayne Airport, which led the region in passenger increases for the first two months of 2007 (the most recent period for which data was available). John Wayne’s passenger numbers were up by roughly 8%, compared to a 1% increase at Los Angeles International Airport.
New for 2007
Tourism always is bolstered by new attractions and activities, and OC is well poised to meet that demand this summer.
Disneyland will unveil the long-awaited “Finding Nemo” Submarine Voyage in June and the Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island on May 25. Nemo, Tucker said, has the potential to appeal to Boomers who remember the original submarine ride as well as fans of the “Finding Nemo” film. Disneyland is promoting the new ride throughout the West with a “Nemomobile” that is touring the region.
Pirate’s Lair is an overlay theme on Tom Sawyer Island that was originally proposed in the 1950s but never implemented. The updated version will include surprise special effects and more hands-on exploration of the island and debuts at the same time as the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie.
The parks will continue to promote their “Year of a Million Dreams,” which awards a variety of prizes to guests selected at random. More than 145,000 prizes have been given out since last October.
Knott’s Berry Farm plans to unveil a new coaster called the Sierra Sidewinder at Camp Snoopy. Aimed at tweens, the spinning coaster is the first of its kind in the U.S.
In Laguna Beach, the Festival of Arts will celebrate its 75th anniversary with three new special event days, including culinary competitions and demonstrations, “Mudslingers Day” devoted to ceramics and “Outside the Lines: Reflecting Today’s Culture Through Art.” The festival also will include an exhibition by Walt Disney Co. artists.
Laguna’s other art festivals,the Sawdust and Art A Fair,also have big plans. The Art A Fair is reinventing itself in an Italian theme,Palazzo Laguna,with an open courtyard called Piazza Venezia for staged entertainment. The Sawdust Festival plans to emphasize its unique attributes with an “up close and personal” theme.
The bond between the arts and the beach in Laguna is a long-standing one. In the 1960s, it was the Festival of Arts that stepped up to help the city purchase the strip of land now known as Main Beach to keep it from development.
Newport Beach has seen an increase in demand since the newly remodeled Newport Beach Marriott, Island Hotel and Fairmont Newport Beach were completed. And the Balboa Bay Club draws its share of celebrities, local fund-raisers, weddings and special events throughout the summer.
“We get a lot of business from Las Vegas, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Palm Springs because of (their) heat in the summer,” said executive director of sales and marketing George Lysak.
At Crystal Cove, locals line up for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Beachcomber restaurant and the revamped cottages are booking far in advance.
“Newport Beach is getting noticed for the Crystal Cove cottages,” said Gary Sherwin, president and chief executive of the Newport Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau.
The city is getting another makeover at the Fun Zone where the Nautical Heritage Museum is moving in to its new quarters.
In Huntington Beach, the city experiment in closing downtown to all but pedestrian traffic one night a week appears to be gaining ground and might become permanent.
In addition, the city again will host numerous action sports events that bring people to town.
Costa Mesa relaunched its popular fly/drive and dine program through which visitors staying at city hotels receive a $30 reimbursement for airfare or gasoline plus a $30 restaurant certificate for each night they stay.
With the Ren & #233;e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in its first full summer at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, the promotion might garner additional takers this year. The Performing Arts Center creates a buzz for OC and helps business in south Orange County, Ahlers said.
“People who are spending a lot on leisure travel look for those kinds of things,” he said.
A 2006 study by the Travel Industry Association and American Express found that the typical household spends about $1,500 on each vacation trip and travels,often by car,up to 1,200 miles. Most say they stay at mid-priced hotels and motels. With average daily rates countywide of $103.39, some travelers might stay home.
Bruce Baltin, senior vice president of the Los Angeles office of PKF Consulting, which tracks the hotel industry, said that isn’t a particular concern for Orange County.
“Rates are rising everywhere,” he said. “We’re seeing some impact nationally, but it’s not a huge portion of the market.”
Cloudy Horizon
The national economy, consumer confidence and gas prices still might hamper the potential for record-setting visitor numbers this year, and other challenges are on the horizon.
To lure international travelers, Orange County must rely on passengers who typically arrive at Los Angeles International Airport. And while LAX has its advantages, Kyser said it has gotten a bad rap as an international airport, running the risk that travelers might fly to other ports of entry and bypass Southern California. Renovations under way at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX could mitigate those concerns, but the remake isn’t scheduled for completion until 2010.
In Anaheim, the controversy over allowing residential development in the resort district has the potential to hamper future development and divide the community.
Along the coast, water quality issues continue to arise and parking in beach cities at times is nearly impossible. Huntington Beach plans to open another 2,500 parking spaces this year, but Laguna Beach is still wrestling with its next moves.
The biggest challenge for Orange County always has been how to position it in tourists’ minds. The TV shows,while providing plenty of free ink and images,aren’t necessarily the picture of reality.
Individual cities have had better success with that effort.
Huntington Beach has its Surf City brand, Costa Mesa its cultural identity and Laguna Beach has the arts. Disney and the convention market personify Anaheim.
Newport’s Sherwin currently is working to create a lifestyle brand for Newport Beach, while the OCeanfront consortium is trying to build one for the entire coast. Whatever success or failures come from those efforts, Sherwin said there’s one thing that’s certain for tourism in Orange County.
“You can’t just say ‘here’s the beach’ anymore,” he said. “You need to find the messages that connect with visitors through their hearts first.”
