Los Angeles attracted a record number of visitors last year, and Canadians played a large role.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (L.A. Tourism) President & CEO Ernest Wooden Jr. this week announced that L.A. welcomed 48.31 million visitors in 2017, setting a new tourism milestone for the seventh consecutive year. The record figure is 1.0 million visitors higher than 2016’s total, an increase of 2.2.

International visitation overall grew 0.9% to a record 7.1 million visitors, outperforming both its projected forecast and inbound travel to the United States as a whole in 2017.

Last year marked a record year for Canada, with its highest ever visitor total of 747,000. That's up 5.5 per cent from 2016.

Visitation from Canada also outperformed an earlier forecast by nearly five per cent and outperformed visitation to the United States as a whole. Last year also was also a strong year for airlift, with a 10.6 per cent increase in seat capacity to LAX and expanded air service from Air Canada from Vancouver.

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) also announced a record-breaking 2017, having welcomed more than 84.9 million passengers. LAX is the largest U.S. gateway airport to Canada with more passengers than any other airport.

Other international markets recording significant gains for Los Angeles in 2017 included: China with 1.1 million visitors (a six per cent YOY increase); South Korea with 315,000 visitors (6.3 per cent YOY increase, the largest gain among all markets); and India with 121,000 visitors (4.0 per cent YOY increase).

“We are powering Los Angeles’ economy to new heights every year, because we know that lasting prosperity means investing boldly in jobs, opportunity, and growth,” said Mayor Garcetti. “The expansion of our travel and tourism sector tells the story of a city whose moment has arrived — and we will continue pushing forward as we expand our role on the world stage, and prepare to welcome the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028.”

A contributing factor to L.A.’s year-over-year increase in international visitation is the resonance of a message of welcome. In April 2017, L.A. Tourism launched an initiative called “Everyone is Welcome” which reinforced the city’s cultural diversity and inclusivity.

A similarly inclusive tourism campaign was launched by New York City, which is cooperating on a tourism campaign with Toronto.

“Our ‘Everyone is Welcome’ campaign was the right message at the right time; it was a message of humanity and encouraged people around the globe to see the diversity of L.A.’s faces and places,” said Ernest Wooden Jr., president & CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board. “In 2018, we will extend and amplify our message of ‘Welcome’ and intertwine a message of hospitality, fueling even greater momentum towards our north star of 50 million visitors by the year 2020.”

With its tremendous weather, great beaches, top-rated hotels and entertainment options, L.A. has long been a magnet for Canadians from the west coast, as well as from Toronto, Montreal and points east.

While those are obvious attractions, Los Angeles also has a remarkable diversity of attractions. Downtown has marvellous old architecture and the Grand Central Market, as well as the L.A. Live complex and sleek new hotels like The Ace. The rugged Santa Monica Mountains are great for hiking and horseback riding. I had a great visit a couple years ago to a place called Sunset Ranch Hollywood, where you can ride horses in the shadow of the world-famous Hollywood sign.

It’s also worth checking out the new Metro lines that criss-cross the city, making it much easier for folks who dread driving on southern California freeways. Try a ride north of downtown to Highland Park, a community with cool restaurants and a superb, retro bowling alley. Or take public transit all the way to the beach in Santa Monica, one of the great destinations in the Los Angeles area.

For more information, visit the official visitor information website of Los Angeles at discoverLosAngeles.com, join the more than one million people who follow Discover L.A. at facebook.com/DiscoverLosAngeles, or follow @discoverLA on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.