In 60 Days, Despite Deep Staff Cuts, Destination Organization Reschedules 17 Events and Secures 33 New Pieces of Meetings & Conventions Business

 

ANAHEIM, Calif. (June 4, 2020) ― Visit Anaheim, the official destination marketing organization for Anaheim, today announced it has confirmed 50 meetings and conventions projected to bring more than $63 million in economic impact to the local community. Combined, these 11 conventions at the Anaheim Convention Center and 39 meetings will generate an estimated $1.2 million in tourism occupancy tax (TOT) revenue for the city.

Since April, Visit Anaheim has successfully rebooked three conventions and 14 meetings, while also securing eight new conventions and 25 new meetings. Additionally, Visit Anaheim has generated 179 business opportunity leads for local hotels and venues to help kickstart recovery for the local community. Most importantly, with 50,000 local jobs lost during the “stay at home” orders, this business will make it possible for local hotels, restaurants, and other tourism businesses to start rehiring their workforce.

“Our team continues to work hard to bring new events to the destination while keeping committed events wanting to come back,” said Jay Burress, president & CEO, Visit Anaheim. “Even though we are faced with reduced staff levels, Visit Anaheim remains focused on our local tourism industry’s road to recovery, and the role we play in those efforts both now and later.”

In the last 90 days, Visit Anaheim has successfully rebooked and scheduled a total of 19 conventions representing more than $502 million in local economic impact. Additionally, the team has simultaneously rebooked and scheduled a total of 62 meetings representing nearly $30 million in local economic impact. In total, the organization has closed nearly 90 pieces of business since March 2020 that are anticipated to bring more than $532 million to the local community.

Notably, these successes were achieved as Visit Anaheim experienced a nearly 60% reduction in staff in March. By partnering with the City of Anaheim as part of the Community and Economic Recovery Plan, Visit Anaheim is thankful to be able to continue to operate and position its local community and tourism industry for a strong rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council-adopted Anaheim Community and Economic Recovery Plan continues to allow Visit Anaheim to maintain this core economic recovery staff team to drive these results for residents and taxpayers.

To learn more about Visit Anaheim’s efforts to ensure the city recovers quickly and is best positioned to restore hotel stays, meetings, and conventions in Anaheim go to visitanaheim.org/response-and-recovery.

Visit Anaheim Contact:
Lindsay Swanson, Communications Manager
lswanson@visitanaheim.org
(714) 765-2928

About Visit Anaheim: 
Founded in 1961, Visit Anaheim is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit destination marketing organization. Visit Anaheim’s mission is to develop, market, and sell Anaheim to benefit the economic vitality of its neighborhoods. To learn more about Visit Anaheim, visit: www.visitanaheim.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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