Los Angeles mayor, Eric Garcetti, and Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LA Tourism) president & CEO Ernest Wooden Jr have revealed a record 45.5m visitor to LA in 2015.
The influx represents increase of 2.8% over 2014 levels, breaking visitation records for the fifth consecutive year.
New tourism records were set for both domestic and international visitation surpassing mid-year forecasts.
Total domestic visitation reached 38.8m, a 2.8% increase over 2014. Meanwhile, 6.7m international visitors made LA their ultimate destination, a 3.3% increase over the previous year.
“Los Angeles is a place where the world comes together for cultural experiences and celebrated attractions that cannot be found anywhere else,” said mayor Garcetti. “Our city keeps setting records in the tourism sector because we are investing billions at our airport, in mass transit, and other assets that are making L.A. more exciting and accessible than ever. The sky’s the limit.”
China was the most popular market driving international visitation with a year-over-year growth of 13.6%, officially becoming L.A.’s number two international market, behind Mexico, with 779,000 visitors. The UK saw an increase of 4.3% from 2014, totalling 342,000 visitors in 2015.
“We want to recognise and congratulate our hospitality community for their passion and dedication which has allowed us to celebrate our fifth consecutive year of record-breaking visitation. It’s these individuals and businesses that make Los Angeles such a dynamic destination that 45.5m people traveled to experience it in 2015,” said Ernest Wooden Jr., president & CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board. “These figures help propel us to our goal of welcoming 50m visitors by 2020.”
Tourism is among the largest and healthiest contributors to the LA economy, supporting more than 464,000 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector. A record 28.5m hotel room nights were sold countywide with ADR reaching a new high of US$158.35, a 7.4% increase over 2014.
In the calendar year 2015, it is estimated that hotel visitors generated at least US$223m in transient-occupancy tax collections for the City of Los Angeles.
