NEWPORT BEACH

Tourism, one of the city’s key sources of income, appears headed for rough seas this fiscal year. Visitors accounted for more than $20.3 million of income for the general fund last year, but construction projects and new developments in Anaheim have unexpectedly threatened to cut into that revenue. “As Anaheim goes, so goes Newport Beach,” said Rosalind Williams of the Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau. “When Anaheim is full, we [get] that overflow. Similarly, when business is slow in Anaheim, we don’t get the benefit.”

This year, however, the expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center is expected to significantly undercut revenue in both cities as fewer organizations make use of the facility during construction. At the same time, Anaheim has expanded the number of available hotel rooms. City officials expect the tourism picture to improve by 2001, when California Adventure, a new theme park adjacent to Disneyland, opens.