With $10 billion worth of development projects underway in Anaheim, Visit Anaheim’s newest Chief Executive Mike Waterman believes the coming decade will be the best time to promote the city.
Waterman has dubbed the next several years as a “golden decade” for Anaheim.
The city’s tourism marketing organization, the nonprofit responsible for booking events and promoting tourism for the city’s collection of restaurants, hotels and other businesses, appointed Waterman as CEO in April. Former tourism head Jay Buress resigned in November 2023, amid fallout from a city corruption scandal that
resulted in the resignation of Mayor Harry Sidhu.
Waterman counts over 30 years in the hospitality and tourism industry having spent two decades with Marriott International and its hotel companies before being recruited to the visitor’s bureau in Houston as president.
After switching from mainly hotels to a tourism organization focused on a whole city, Waterman learned that his new career was more rewarding.
He pointed to all the different organizations and businesses that were affected when booking a large client such as a three-day convention. “The local Walgreens, the floral shop, and more,” he said.
“We did some amazing things,” he told the Business Journal of his tenure in the city which included hosting large-scale events such as Superbowl LI.
Waterman then joined Visit Orlando as chief sales officer overseeing business for one of the largest tourism budgets in the country, he noted, for four years.
When approached for the role in Anaheim this year, Waterman knew this was the place he wanted to hang his career hat.
Upcoming projects arriving in the next several years in the city include the almost $4 billion OCVibe retail and entertainment hub and the start of decades of new park development from the DisneylandForward proposal by the local theme park.
Waterman also isn’t completely new to the area. He and his family spent 12 years in Southern California during his time with Marriott and returning to live in OC was one of the reasons he decided to accept the new position.
“From the transformative developments taking place to global events like the World Cup and Olympics coming to Southern California, Anaheim will continue to be the epicenter for tourism in Orange County.”
