Newport Beach Tourism Boosters Set Sights on L.A., Australia

Local tourism boosters hope that more Los Angeles residents will decide to spend the night in Newport Beach during the coming year.

The challenge is getting those people to change their view of Newport, according to Gary Sherwin, President of Visit Newport Beach, a nonprofit funded by city hotel tax revenue that markets Newport domestically and abroad.

“There is a perception that we are part of L.A.’s backyard, and people don’t always think about staying here overnight,” Sherwin said during his recent annual report to the City Council.

“People see us as an extension of Los Angeles, as opposed to Palm springs or Santa Barbara, where you have to drive and you actually feel like you’re going somewhere,” he said. “It’s really changing that mind set—that we’re as much of a vacation destination as travelling two hours to Palm Springs”

Sherwin said his organization would work to “retool” it’s marketing approach to make Newport more attractive to L.A. residents—”our bread-and-butter market”—as a place to spend more than just the day.

A recent example of that effort was Visit Newport Beach’s that sought to entice L.A. residents to avoid the mayhem that was predicted to result from the recent closure of a stretch of the 405 freeway and instead spend the weekend relaxing in Newport.

On the international front, Visit Newport Beach plans to start marketing in Australia, Sherwin said.

That country has “a young, very affluent population base,” he said, adding that tourism from Australia to California is expected to grow tremendously over the next several years.

Visit Newport Beach plans to work with the California Travel and Tourism Commission, which already has an office in Australia, to develop a strategy to entice Australians to vacation in Newport, Sherwin said.

And why do people choose Newport Beach—some 6.9 million did last year—over other Southern California vacation spots?

"People really do feel that they are a part of our aspirational lifestyle," Sherwin said. "They feel like they are included in our culture. In Beverly Hills people said, 'you know what? I’m watching them like they’re aliens. I will never be a Beverly Hills person.' But here in Newport Beach, you feel like you’re a Newport Beach person when you’re here."

Also, he said, the many neighborhoods of Newport offer a variety of vacation options.

“We don’t sell Newport Beach as a monolith," he said. "We sell it as a collection of unique experiences and we emphasize the neighborhoods.”

But Newport can be even more inviting, Sherwin said. He suggested that police officers, and other city employees who interact with the public often, undergo hospitality training, “because they are our ambassadors.”

“While they have to protect and keep the bad guys out, we also want them to be able to take care of our visitors in a way that’s representative of the style of Newport Beach,” he said.

Visit Newport Beach already has discussed the idea with Police Chief Jay Johnson, and he was receptive, Sherwin said.

Mayor Mike Henn suggested that an even wider group could benefit from training for being more hospitable.

“You may need to re-train some of our residents in that respect,” he said.