May 03–Travelers to Orange County spent $11 billion in 2015, a 4.1 percent increase over the year before, according to a report released Monday by Visit California.
Tourism also created some 160,000 jobs in the county.
Ed Fuller, president and chief executive of the Orange County Visitors Association, broke down the Orange County numbers in a conference call:
–47.4 million visitors came to Orange County last year, a 10.8 percent increase in a five-year span.
–Of these tourists, 4.3 million were international, a 5 percent increase from the year before.
–The Anaheim Convention Center had 1.6 million attendees in 2015.
–Some $2.4 billion was spent in the county on business and convention spending.
California travelers spent more than $122 billion in 2015, according to the report, marking a 3.4 percent increase from 2014. State highlights from the report included:
–Total direct travel spending in California was $122.6 billion in 2015, a 3.5 percent increase from 2014
–Travel spending in California directly supported 1,063,000 jobs, with earnings of $41.3 billion
–Travel spending in 2015 generated $4.6 billion in local taxes and $5.3 billion in state taxes
–Of the state's 58 counties, 51 saw an increase in travel spending. Los Angeles saw a 2.6 percent increase and Riverside saw a 3.3 percent increase in spending.
–The travel industry in California has generated more than 1 million jobs and $9.9 billion in state and local tax revenue, the report stated.
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