Where in the world are patrons from?

Laguna Beach has developed into a destination that draws people from all over the world. Whether it’s for the arts culture, the beach scene or shopping, Laguna has become a journey people of all walks of life take.

Tom Williams, owner of My Laguna Office, noticed the phenomenon. Curious to see where all his customers where from, in July he hung up two maps in his shop. One is a world map, the other is a map of the United States.

Williams tries to get to know all his customers and when he detects an accent, he asks them to put a pin in the map to represent where they’re from. His results have been surprising.

“There’s tons of interesting people, I’m always astonished by my customers,” Williams said.

Since mid-July, the maps have become a tiny global village populated by pins. Every continent but Antarctica is represented.

There are pins as far as Malaysia and Russia. Yet Laguna has been visited by people from such places as Laos, Syria, and Cameroon. Williams said he has even had customers from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and Gibraltar — and those are only the visitors that happen into My Laguna Office.

“I have no delusions that I’m the hub of Laguna Beach,” Williams said. “So when I see how many people come in I see how much of a draw the city has.”

Williams understands why people travel to the city. He himself is transplant, a native of Toronto, Canada. Despite being an office supply store, My Laguna Office draws a lot of tourists with its access to computers and the Internet.

Williams is beginning to draw conclusions from his maps.

“I think the pattern changes throughout the year,” he said.

During the summer, many of the pins were from visitors from hotter areas, while winter brings visitors from places like New England and Europe for milder temperatures.

Williams tries to pick up bits and pieces of other languages to use when he has international customers.

“When you say ‘danke schoen’ to a German their faces light up because they’re not used to Americans speaking their language,” Williams said.