Orange County Visitors Association and Visit Anaheim data show travelers to OC contributed $12.1 billion to the local economy last year, up 6.8% over 2015 numbers.
About 48.2 million people visited the area, up about 2%.
Travel-related jobs here climbed 4.3% to 164,000 compared with the prior year’s 157,000.
OCVA Chief Executive Ed Fuller attributed the results to joint efforts to market the county domestically and to international markets that include China, Mexico and the Middle East.
“Our partners see the big picture,” he said in a press release.
Visit Anaheim Chief Executive Jay Burress said the numbers show that the “future is bright for Orange County.”
Irvine-based OCVA promotes the county for business and leisure travel. Anaheim-based Visit Anaheim does the same for Anaheim and Garden Grove.
Seven other destination marketing organizations—for the cities of Irvine, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Buena Park, Dana Point and Laguna Beach—are also involved in efforts to market Orange County.
The 2017 OC Tourism Conference is scheduled for Wednesday at Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove.
