Well-heeled Arabs and GCC residents wishing to indulge in some luxury shopping in the heart of California and perhaps buy a luxury home while they are at it can now do so under a special holiday package available across the Gulf. 

And on hand to advise you on that mansion you particularly fancy will be none other than a Sotheby’s real estate specialist.

The exclusive ‘OC & Sotheby’s Own a Piece of Paradise’ package has been launched by the Orange County Visitors Association (OCVA).

It aims to promote Orange County California as a premier luxury shopping, holiday and residential destination for Middle Eastern visitors. 

The package has been created exclusively for the Middle East and offers complimentary VIP shopping experiences combined with a private three-day tour of Orange County luxury homes and properties that are currently on the market for private purchase. 

The tailored inspection tours are conducted by a Sotheby’s real estate specialist, and the packages are available through local GCC travel agents.  

OCVA President Ed Fuller says: “We not only want guests from the Middle East to visit us, we want them to stay and call the OC home!” 

He continues: “This is the first time for Orange County to offer such a package in any market around the world, and we are extremely excited to launch here in the Middle East. The OC is blessed with one of the world’s most comfortable all-year climates. Combined with our internationally acclaimed cuisine, shopping experiences, family entertainment, theme parks and stunning coastline and mountain landscapes, the OC offers an aspirational lifestyle that we not only want to share with visiting international tourists, but visitors that we could then hopefully call neighbors.” 

As a US destination, Orange County California continues to remain at the forefront of reaching out to welcome guests from the Middle East. The OCVA is the first, and to date only, US tourism association to have a permanent promotional office within the GCC, and in 2015 launched an online educational video in conjunction with the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding in Dubai, to train Orange County’s retail, hospitality, tourism and even police force on how to warmly welcome and effectively interact with guests from the Middle East. 

Various social media platforms in English and Arabic have also been launched by the OCVA to engage and directly interact more closely with residents of the Gulf.

The package offers an array of tours and discounts including the private home tour of luxury OC properties with a Sotheby’s specialist and guide; complimentary personal shopping services and numerous discounts through the OC Saving Book for shopping and dining discounts at Fashion Island and Irvine at Spectrum Center; VIP luxury lounge access pass, VIP discount passport and VIP valet parking pass at South Coast Plaza among others. 

Orange County is located in the heart of Southern California with less than 45 minutes to Los Angeles and an hour to San Diego. As such, in addition to having access to some of the world’s best beaches, shopping, and family entertainment attractions, from beach-fronted luxury resorts visitors can enjoy all the lifestyle pleasures that the OC has to offer as well as make day trips to urban attractions in San Diego and Los Angeles, without the traffic hassles that Los Angeles is renowned for. 

Says Fuller: “With direct air access between the GCC and LAX Airport by leading Gulf airlines continuing to expand, the OC has never been more accessible. The launch of direct flights by Qatar Airlines this month, in addition to established flights by Emirates, Etihad Airways and Saudia Airlines, provides expanded opportunities for more Middle Eastern visitors to continue returning to the OC throughout the year. We expect the number of visitors from this region to continue increasing in the months and years ahead, and hopefully see them returning to their own new OC homes. ”