Visit Anaheim, the destination organization for Anaheim, announced its sixth consecutive record-breaking year for both spending and visitation in 2018. According to preliminary reports, the landmark year welcomed 24.4 million visitors to the Southern California city and visitor spend topped the charts at $9 billion across Orange County.
Compared to 2017, Anaheim visitor spend rose 4.3 percent throughout Orange County and total visitation to Anaheim rose 0.7 percent. Since 2013, Anaheim visitor spend has risen 54 percent and visitation to Anaheim has increased steadily by 30 percent.
“Anaheim is proud to serve as the epicenter for tourism in Orange County which delivers positive economic benefits for every corner of the county,” said Jay Burress, president & CEO, Visit Anaheim. “Tourism is an incredibly competitive landscape. The fact that 2018 heralded in another milestone year underscores the successes of destination development projects that have kept Anaheim attractive to visitors and meeting planners. All of these enhancements will continue to prove beneficial and positively impact our neighbourhoods and region for years to come.”
Since 2016, approximately $4.5 billion in destination development investment projects have surged across the city. Theme park enhancements offer unrivalled guest experiences while Anaheim’s hotel portfolio continues to expand, 1,555 hotel rooms were added to the greater Anaheim Resort district in 2016 and 2017.
“The future is bright for Anaheim; With the opening of Disneyland Park’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land slated for this summer, AAA Four Diamond luxury properties set to open within a year and many more development projects in the works, we anticipate Anaheim tourism to positively contribute to the economic vitality of the region for a long time to come,” says Burress.
