Summer proving hot for tourism industry

Alicia Robinson

The local hospitality industry is reporting healthy gains so far this

summer despite tourism officials’ concerns earlier this year about

competition from new resorts and attractions to the north and south.

Hotel-occupancy rates for Newport Beach rose 11.2% between January

and May, according to PKF Consulting. Anecdotal evidence suggests

June has also been strong for area hotels, and officials expect

tourist-serving businesses to stay busy through the fall.

“I feel safe saying that we’re seeing at least a 4% increase,”

Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Marta

Hayden said of hotel occupancy compared with last summer’s numbers.

“It looks like a boom, [and] that we’re going to have a really good

summer.”

The boom from Fourth of July fireworks drew crowds to the area,

with Newport Dunes reporting 100% occupancy of its campsites and

cottages and at least 11,000 people on the property to see the

fireworks display.

“We had a very good showing,” Newport Dunes General Manager Andrew

Theodorou said. “I think it’s very close to previous years.”

The Costa Mesa Conference and Visitor Bureau has seen high

participation in its drive or fly-and-dine programs, which offer

certificates for dining and gas or airfare rebates to people who book

hotel stays in the city. Bureau President Joe De Dio said he expects

the program to do better than it did last year, when 2,800 hotel

stays were booked.

“I feel that people are more confident, and people are traveling,”

said De Dio, also general manager of the Costa Mesa Holiday Inn.

“June was not as good as everybody thought it was going to be, but it

was much better than last year.”

Even the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, not always people’s first

thought as a tourist stop, is benefiting from the popularity of

Orange County’s various attractions.

Museum Chief Executive Glenn Zagoren said the museum has had about

1,500 visitors a month this summer who weren’t coming for special

activities, such as a recent event with tall ships. That’s an

increase of about 28% compared with the same time in 2003, he said.

Some think the upswing is due in part to Orange County finally

coming into its own and developing an identity apart from Los Angeles

and San Diego counties.

South Coast Plaza has been enjoying the fruits of domestic and

international tourism, said Werner Escher, executive director of

domestic and international markets for the retail center.

“For so long, there’s kind of been a curtain between Los Angeles

and Orange County,” he said. “What we’re looking at is Orange County

being promoted as a county.”

Another ingredient seems to be publicity. For the first time this

year, the nautical museum printed 100,000 information cards and

placed them in 420 hotels and tourist spots around the county, and

Zagoren said they seem to have done their job.

“The key for us is, how do we entice those people that are

traditionally going to take a day away from Disneyland and see other

things?” he said. “From the museum’s point of view, as a cultural

point, we’re being really aggressive.”

Finally, proximity is helping tourism in Newport-Mesa this summer,

officials said. Theodorou said since Sept. 11, 2001, people have

wanted to travel to places not too far from home. For many people,

Newport Beach is a good distance to drive to get to the beach,

shopping and other attractions. Even high gas prices haven’t dented

his business, with high occupancies expected for the rest of the

summer, he said.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.