TOURISM : Magazine for Visitors to Focus on Attractions Available Countywide

One would think that Orange County, with its many tourist haunts, would have a concise guide showing visitors all the things they can see and do.

Diane Baker, president of the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau, was surprised to learn last year that no such guide exists. Individual communities and visitor bureaus have literature describing their own attractions, she said, but she could find nothing that describes the whole county.

“How many people know about the tide pools in Corona del Mar or bird watching in Huntington Beach?” she asked, not to mention the Los Alamitos Race Course or the county’s various festivals and fairs.

So Baker set out to create an all-encompassing guide. She got some organizational help from County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder and brought together representatives of most of Orange County’s 31 cities. “They all agreed there was a need for a marketing tool for the county,” Baker said.

The group decided to produce a colorful magazine that would be printed on high-quality paper and would have 32 to 36 pages. Publication was financed through advertisements bought by at least 21 cities that want to extol their tourist attractions. Included are articles on historical sites, parks and beaches; among the listings are many places that charge no admission fees. The result, Baker said, is a “cross between a visitors guide and a community profile.”

The magazine hopes to broaden its appeal so that local residents will read it, too, she said, though tourists will be the initial focus. “The primary purpose is to keep visitors in Orange County a day or two longer” than their schedules might call for. If they learn of more to see and do, she figures they will stay.

About 250,000 copies will be produced for free distribution at auto club offices across the nation, at John Wayne Airport and for people who write in requesting a copy. Baker said the first edition should be ready by April. Updates will be done periodically.