Orange County has gained international
recognition in the media, with consumers and the business community
as a top leisure and business site. It is a multi-cultural, palm
tree-filled metropolis. The surf wear industry began here, creating
a trend-setting and innovative environment. It is the embodiment
of the “California Dream”, with a casual lifestyle sophisticated
enough to attract world-class entertainment, restaurants, shops,
the arts and recreation.
It is home to visionaries
in tourism, healthcare, defense, fashion, real estate and technology.
It is as diverse as its terrain, filled with multi-million dollar
mansions, the county's largest Vietnamese community and a vast Hispanic
population.
Orange County
by the numbers covers 1278 square kilometers, is composed
of 34 cities, and has a 68 kilometers coastline. Nearly three
million people live here and more than 42 million visits annually,
spending over six billion dollars.
So where is Orange
County? When visitors are asked, most say they are coming to
Disneyland, or maybe they know some city names like Anaheim,
Newport Beach, or Irvine.
Through
research, focus groups and internet feedback it has been discovered
that many visitors are not familiar with all that the county has to
offer. They maybe aware of Disneyland, which is celebrating their
50th Anniversary starting on 5 May 2005, but don't realise that there
are many beaches nearby, or some think that Orange County is part
of Los Angeles.
Anaheim/Orange
County has everything a traveler is looking for in a destination,
world – class theme parks, beautiful beaches, great shopping
and tasty dining.
Creator of the FOX show The O.C., Josh
Schwatz, was recently quoted as saying “L.A has been beaten
to death as the icon selling the global appeal of the California
lifestyle. Orange County is just more pure California than L.A”.
Because
of the show's success, many tourism-related businesses in Orange County
have decided to tie their fates to it. It has undoubtedly given the
county a hip celebrity status and expanded its appeal as ‘the'
California destination. The tagline of one of The O.C.'s promotional
posters say's it all, “It's nothing like where you live. And
nothing like what you imagine”.
