Number of Visitors to County Declines to Lowest Level in 8 Years, but Spending Up : Tourism: The drop is felt most strongly at area theme parks such as Disneyland and Knott’s. Earthquake, lingering riot fears are blamed for overall loss.

Confirming what hotel and theme park executives feared, figures released Monday show the number of tourists visiting Orange County in 1994 dropped to its lowest level in at least eight years.

About 37.1 million tourists visited Orange County, traditionally one of the strongest tourism draws in Southern California, down about 1% from 37.5 million in 1993, according to the Anaheim/Orange County Convention & Visitor Bureau, which compiles the annual survey.

The annual tourism figure, which includes estimated figures for November and December, is the lowest since the bureau adopted its present method of tallying visitor counts in 1987. The previous low was 37.3 million visitors in 1992; the biggest year was 39.5 million in 1989.

While fewer tourists came, those who did spent more: a total of $4.9 billion, up $100 million from the previous year. And the number of conventioneers rose too, to 1 million, up from 950,916 in 1993 though there were fewer conventions last year.

Still, the key figure for most tourism industry executives was the overall drop in visitors. And it was felt most strongly at area theme parks.

“We definitely saw a lack of tourists throughout the year,” said Bob Ochsner, spokesman for Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park. “It was the earthquake; it was lingering security issues associated with the riots.”

While neither park discloses attendance figures, industry trade magazine Amusement Business recently reported that Disneyland in Anaheim experienced a 10% attendance drop to 10.3 million last year while Knott’s rose 4% to 3.8 million.

Knott’s attendance increased as it campaigned to attract more Southland families to visit the park, making up for the loss of tourists. Nearby Disneyland attempted a similar shift.

But tourists are more highly prized than locals because they “spend more in parks, both on food and merchandise” than locals, Ochsner said. And both Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland had to take the once-unheard-of step of offering steep discounts to lure more area residents.

In the past couple months, however, there are signs that tourists are returning. “Things seem to be coming back,” said Disneyland spokesman John McClintock. “In the fall, we saw some strong signs of recovery.”

As proof of its renewed confidence, Disneyland increased its adult ticket price Monday from $31 to $33. (Admission remains a flat $23 for Southern California residents who show proof of residency).

Elaine Cali, spokeswoman for the visitors bureau, said she believes that Orange County “has held its own” in visitor counts and spending despite the residual effects of the recession.

“Considering what’s happened in the last couple of years, we’ve done pretty well,” Cali said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Disneyland Prices

Since 1982, the price of a one-day ticket at Disneyland has gone up 175% for adults.

Adult Child June, 1982 $12 $9 October, 1983 $13 $9 May, 1984 $14 $9 January, 1985 $15 $10 May, 1985 $16.50 $10.50 March, 1986 $17.95 $10.95 October, 1986 $19 $12.95 January, 1987 $20 $15 September, 1987 $21.50 $16.50 December, 1989 $25.50 $20.50 November, 1990 $27.50 $22.50 June, 1992 $28.75 $23 May, 1993 $30 $24 May, 1994 $31 $25 January, 1995 $33 $25

Source: Walt Disney Co.

Tourism Slide

Orange County played host to about 400,000 fewer visitors last than in 1993. Here’s the trend, in millions:

1994: 37.1*

* Estimated

Source: Anaheim / Orange County Visitors & Convention Bureau