Live From IPW: John Urdi on Why Huntington Beach Is Having a Moment
Episode description
How does Surf City USA reintroduce itself to the world — and convert day-trippers into destination visitors — with the World Cup and LA Olympics on the horizon? John Urdi, the new president and CEO of Visit Huntington Beach, has a plan: privatize the funding, expand international reach, and tell a bigger story about the 10 miles of coastline behind the headlines.
In this IPW 2026 episode, recorded live from the conference floor in Fort Lauderdale, Urdi sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran — who grew up in Huntington Beach — to talk about his move from Mammoth Lakes to the coast, the Live Between Waves campaign, and how a destination that's drawn polarizing national attention is leading with what's there.
Episode highlights
- The Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) funding model to Huntington Beach — and what that unlocks for international market expansion
- The conversion challenge: only 25 percent of Huntington Beach's traffic is overnight, and how Urdi plans to grow destination visitation through airline partnerships and a conference sales team already up from 56,000 to 87,000 room nights
- How Live Between Waves repositions Surf City USA beyond surfing — surf culture, the 10-mile boardwalk, après-surf, and four beachfront hotels you can't get next door in Newport or Laguna
- Urdi's "plant more flowers" philosophy for navigating polarizing national headlines, and how community events like A Great Day in the Stoke — the largest gathering of Black surfers — tell a different story about who Huntington Beach welcomes
- How Huntington Beach plans to capture traffic from the 2026 World Cup and 2028 LA Olympics by being "your open beach" — and Urdi's deep collaboration with Visit Anaheim, Palm Springs, and L.A. Tourism
Chapters
00:00:00 Welcome to View From Afar
00:01:30 From Mammoth to the Beach
00:03:00 Building the Hotel Funding Model
00:05:30 Planting Flowers, Not Weeds
00:09:00 Live Between Waves
00:11:30 What's Next on the Waterfront
00:16:00 The World Cup and LA28 Opportunity
Resources
- Visit Surf City USA
- Find Visit Huntington Beach on Instagram and Facebook
- Explore Afar's California travel guide
✨ Joy & Connection: Urdi walks to work and says hello to everyone he passes on the 15-minute route. It's a small thing, but it's the kind of thing that runs against the headlines — and it's part of what made A Great Day in the Stoke, the largest gathering of Black surfers, feel right at home on Huntington Beach's sand.
🏗️ What's New: Champagne's Kitchen just opened on Main Street, a new restaurant called Huntington's is being built out on the pier, and two major hotel developments are in the works — Magnolia Coast to the south and a 350-room property near Bolsa Chica that would retire the closest-to-shore offshore oil rig.
Episode Navigation
Previous Episode: Lauren Bennett McGinty, Executive Director of Explore Minnesota
Up Next: Kara Franker, CEO of Visit Florida Keys & Key West
Stay Connected
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- Explore our other podcasts, Travel Tales and Unpacked.
This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound.
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