Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LA Tourism) announced, 2 May, that Los Angeles County’s 45.6m visitors injected US$20.6bn into the local economy in 2015.
According to a report released by Visit California, tourism in LA is the largest contributor of direct visitor spend in the Southern California region, contributing more than 21% of the state’s overall direct spend total.
The announcement coincides with this week’s National Travel and Tourism Week in the US.
Final visitation figures include 38.8m domestic visitors and 23.4m domestic overnight visitors. The international visitor number of 6.8m received a big boost from China (45,000 increase) and South Korea (13,000 increase).
Tourism in LA County generated $2.5bn in state and local tax revenues in 2015, representing 20% of all state tax revenue collected from tourism in California.
“Tourism isn’t just thriving in Los Angeles — it’s powering an economic resurgence that touches every corner of our city,” said mayor of LA Eric Garcetti.
“And the 2015 numbers once again show the power of this sector to support good-paying jobs every year for hundreds of thousands of Angelenos.”
“I can wholeheartedly say there’s never been a better time to visit Los Angeles; whether a first-time visitor or a returning Los Angeles loyalist, the destination continues to mesmerise travellers from across the globe with only-in-LA experiences,” said Ernest Wooden Jr., president & CEO of Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.
A record 28.5m hotel-room nights were sold countywide as hotel visitors generated $235m for the city of Los Angeles last year.
