Anaheim’s tourism marketer wants the city to grow to 30 million tourists visiting each year, a substantial increase its officials hope will get done by capitalizing on major events coming to Southern California.
Anaheim had almost 25 million visitors in 2023.
The ambitious plan to get started and bring in at least 20% more tourists by 2027 will be underway as events such as the Fifa World Cup and the Super Bowl are held nearby, coinciding with local developments in the works including the OCVibe entertainment district under construction around the Honda Center and new attractions at Disneyland.
“We are going to do some bold and aggressive things to get to that number, but we are pretty confident we can,” said Visit Anaheim CEO Mike Waterman, who joined the organization last year.
Visit Anaheim announced that benchmark at its annual meeting held in January at the Disneyland Resort’s Hyperion Theater in front of a collection of city leaders, including members of the City Council, hoteliers and ancillary tourism businesses.
Waterman’s message was tourism is undoubtedly a major driver for local business and the city’s revenues, but there remains an opportunity to grow the tourism offering, such as hotels and restaurants, in town and become an even bigger destination for travelers.
That includes marketing efforts to draw in tourists to stay at Anaheim hotels, but also attract more conventions. Anaheim could also be home to teams competing in the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Waterman said Visit Anaheim is also working to create a signature event to be associated with Anaheim’s identity, à la South by Southwest or Stagecoach.
He said they’ve been in conversations with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for a two-night festival sometime this year, but nothing’s been finalized yet.
“The goal is this would be a recurring event that would get bigger and bigger and bigger every year,” Waterman said. “Hopefully it will take over the city like a Coachella or Stagecoach does.”
Mayor Ashleigh Aitken at the meeting declared Anaheim “a proud visitor city” that would be the envy of many cities with its multibillion-dollar developments like OCVibe and DisneylandForward bringing in investment and likely more tourists.
“Now some cities have shopping centers, they have auto dealers, warehouses, and they rely on that to solely fund the basics of government,” Aitken said. “And Anaheim is lucky to have that too. But we also have something few cities do. A visitor economy that drives people from all around the world to come here to Anaheim.
“Revenues from our visitors make up 66% of our general fund,” she added, “and that is how we pay for public safety, community services, and our bond obligations.”
Visit Anaheim is a not-for-profit that books the convention center and markets the city. It’s funded by getting the majority of a 2% assessment on night hotel rates at participating Anaheim hotels.
Current headwinds include a recent slowing of hotel business for Anaheim. But a boost may come later this year as the Disneyland Resort begins its 70th anniversary celebration.
Waterman has called it a golden decade for Anaheim because of all the events and developments underway.
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