ANAHEIM, Calif.
Visit Anaheim president and CEO Jay Burress announced that Anaheim and Orange County set a new visitor volume record in 2015, welcoming an estimated 47.3 million visitors to southern California.
Visitor volume and spending data for 2015 is not yet finalized, but reports indicate that Anaheim welcomed 22.5 million visitors, up 3.5 percent from 2014, capping nearly 30 percent growth since 2011.
Visit Anaheim, the official destination marketing organization (DMO) of Anaheim and Garden Grove, reports that Anaheim’s visitors alone contributed $7.3 billion to the Orange County economy, up 8 percent from the previous year. Tourism spending was up across the county totaling $11.3 billion.
“Anaheim’s rebirth is in full swing,” Burress said. “The preliminary visitor data clearly indicates that tourists are coming to our destination in droves for the unexpected, magical experience only Anaheim can offer. The city’s transformation has opened the door to many new visitors from around the world.”
In 2012, the Anaheim visitor industry recovered to the 2007 prerecession peak and continued to experience record growth through 2015. During the last five years, Anaheim’s total visitor volume rose nearly 30 percent, and total visitor spending jumped 59 percent.
The domestic travel market made steady gains in 2015, with 3.1 percent more visitors coming to Anaheim and 2.3 percent more countywide. However, international visitors accounted for the biggest gain. There was a total of 2.7 million international tourists to Anaheim in 2015 (12 percent of all visitors) and 4.3 million in Orange County; a rise of 6.6 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively.
