“The comeback has begun,” notes Jay Burress, CEO of Visit Anaheim. “Spirits are pretty high right now.”
Disneyland’s closure dealt the hardest blow to the local economy when it shuttered in March 2020, resulting in billions of dollars of economic output losses; the resort’s two theme parks and hotels reopened last month.
A less publicized yet still detrimental blow was the loss of Anaheim’s meetings, conventions and events market.
The Anaheim Convention Center—the largest exhibition facility on the West Coast—lost nearly 350 events because of the pandemic, resulting in $2.6 billion in economic losses, according to Visit Anaheim.
The city-owned center recently held its first non-COVID-19-related event since February 2020, paving the way for future tourism events to take place in the city.
Guidelines
Almost as troubling as the closure of Disneyland and the convention center was the ongoing lack of reopening guidelines issued by the state.
Organizations like trade unions and destination marketing agencies rallied together to demand guidance for these tourism sectors, with one letter citing that cities like Anaheim were losing out on notable business not just in 2021, but in 2022 and beyond, “because of the uncertainty caused by a lack of guidelines.”
Signs of relief came in March, when Gov. Gavin Newsom released a “Blueprint Refresh” that allowed Disneyland and Buena Park’s Knott’s Berry Farm, along with others in the state such as Universal Studios and Six Flags Magic Mountain, to reopen as soon as April 1 if the counties they are located in are in at least the second, or red tier.
First Event
Sporting events were given the go-ahead prior to conventions and meetings, which are usually planned between six months and 10 years in advance.
The guidelines allow indoor, low-contact recreational sports as part of California’s orange reopening tier.
As such, the first event to take place since February at the 1.8 million-square-foot convention center—which has served as a mass testing and vaccination site since March—was a dance competition hosted by Starpower Talent.
The 500-person event took place late last month and was booked by the Orange County Sports Commission (OCSC).
“When California released reopening guidelines for outdoor and indoor youth and recreational adult sports, Orange County Sports Commission remained steadfast in its efforts to continue to attract and book business,” Burress, also the president of the OCSC, said last month.
“The amateur sports market has proven to be resilient in the wake of a pandemic.”
The venue was dealt its first COVID-19-related blow in March 2020, when Natural Products Expo West, typically the second-largest annual trade show at the Anaheim Convention Center, was postponed.
Bookings
Trade shows and conventions were finally given the green light last month to resume after June 15, when the state is expected to fully reopen.
Within these guidelines, the Anaheim Convention Center will be able to host events holding up to 5,000 guests without a vaccine or a COVID-19 test; if the event is bigger than that, verification will be required.
The center has booked its first convention slated for August: a medical device conference hosted by UBM.
The event typically brings 30,000 attendees to the city each year; after a pause in 2020, the 2021 event is expected to bring in about 17,000 guests.
Anaheim was on the verge of missing out on nearly 10 additional events had the guidelines not come last month, Burress noted.
“We’re booking what we can for the rest of the year, but we are focusing on bookings for 2022 through 2031,” he said.
As of April, the city had lost out on 1.7 million attendees as a result of 338 canceled events. That translates to 1.3 million room nights and $38 million in transient occupancy tax, for a total economic loss of $2.6 billion in the county from these cancellations, according to Visit Anaheim.
Couple that with an estimated $8 billion lost from Disneyland Resort during its year-long closure.
Still, confidence is at its highest point in more than a year with the resort’s reopening, which is expected to draw thousands of out-of-state visitors during the summer after the state’s projected June 15 reopening.
Additional business reopenings are expected to occur before then, as Orange County nears the least restrictive yellow tier.
“We’re ready for the next chapter,” Burress said.
