The Orange County Visitors Association (OCVA) launched the “Orange County Tourism Workforce Initiative” in January 2020, a new program created to educate, engage and excite local high school and community college students about career opportunities in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Tourism is a dynamic economic driver in Orange County, generating $21.3 billion dollars in total economic benefits and sustaining more than 179,000 jobs in 2017. Past and projected growth in the tourism industry, combined with the overall strength of the Orange County economy and very low unemployment, have made growing the tourism workforce an important and challenging priority.