There was a little more urgency and focus on product during a recent fam trip to Anaheim, California by a group of western Canada travel advisors. The advisors were there as guests of Visit Anaheim and WestJet Vacations to experience the latest attractions and hotel developments in the Anaheim region – which is anchored by Disneyland and extends around Orange County.
The Anaheim Resort, comprised of the Disneyland park property plus the surrounding cityscape of hotels and resorts, served as the home port for the group of top travel sales professionals. They all hailed from either BC or Alberta and were 11 in number.
They embarked on a full schedule of touring over four-plus days to see a wide variety of attractions, accommodations and eateries in the area, mostly within Orange County. These included everything from visiting an aquarium/wildlife sanctuary in Long Beach, to cycling next to a broad ribbon of sand at Huntington Beach to watching the NHL Anaheim Ducks win their game against the Boston Bruins at the Honda Center – and of course getting the full experience of Disneyland, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.
They also met with Anaheim tourism stakeholders and destination reps and discussed the need to address the depleted number of Canadian visitors to the Anaheim region.
“We are bringing in some of our trusted partners from Canada – a key feeder market for us – to really find out what consumer sentiments are, and to also strategize,” said Michael Young, director of tourism development for Visit Anaheim. “Because Canada is still our great friend to the north, and a pivotal market for Anaheim.”
He confirmed that Canada is the number one international market in terms of spend for Anaheim (Mexico sends a greater volume of visitors), but that Canadian passenger arrivals to Anaheim are down by 19% year-over-year.
The U.S. Travel Association (USTA) projects a US$6 billion reduction in the U.S. national tourism economy this year (2025) vs. last year, with Canada accounting for much of that. Canada is the top country for sending non-domestic visitors to the U.S., accounting for 20.2 million, compared to 17 million for Mexico and 35.2 million for all other countries combined.
The Anaheim fam trip was an eye-opener for agents who may have assumed that tourist attractions in the area were limited to Disneyland. For instance, the transfer to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach was less than 30 minutes long and brought agents to a fascinating place dedicated to restoring endangered species of the oceans. These include sea turtles, zebra sharks, sunflower sea stars, sea bass and sea otters, to name a few. Habitats for each of these creatures are located throughout the Aquarium, and can be seen with the informative aid of a staff member.
A visit to one of California’s famous beaches was also in store for the Canadian advisors. Huntington Beach is about 30 minutes from Anaheim (in good traffic) and is rimmed by a paved pathway that is ideal for both walking and wheeling. Agents got the chance to experience this stretch of idyllic sand from the paved trail by riding e-bikes. Sunny, warmish weather (for the most part) confirmed that Anaheim/Orange County is a viable winter escape destination for Canadians.
Useful information was generated by the hotels and resorts that the advisors visited – some of which had special offers for guests that booked their stays with WestJet Vacations. For example, the Suncoast Park Hotel Anaheim offers a “stay three nights, get the fourth night free” deal, plus complimentary breakfast, free wifi and a waiving of the daily parking fee, worth US$35 per day, for WestJet Vacations guests. The Hampton Inn & Suites also offers a “stay for four nights, pay for three” deal, plus a complimentary hot breakfast buffet, discounted parking and free wifi for those Canadians who book their trip with WestJet Vacations.
Other properties that were explored by the advisors were the JW Marriott Anaheim Resort (where they stayed for two nights), The Anaheim Hotel, the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort (for another two nights), the Cambria Hotel Anaheim Resort, the Hilton Anaheim and the Westin Anaheim Resort.
The advisors even got a look at the future of tourism in Anaheim, as demonstrated by the new OCVibe entertainment district. Now in development, OCVibe seeks to redefine the urban area in the immediate vicinity of the Honda Center, with the construction of 2,500 residences and affordable homes, 550 new green hotel rooms, 30-plus dining locations and 25,000 new theatre seats.
Calling it “the new downtown,” the OCVibe will be woven together with 20 acres of parks and plazas and five km. of connected walking trails. visitanaheim.org/ca-resources