Register now! Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board’s Market Outlook Forum, the strategic forecasting conference aimed at businesses interested in capitalizing on L.A.’s record-breaking tourism growth, will take place August 20, 2015 at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE. The event will be complimentary this year for all LATCB members; space is limited. Registration links were emailed earlier this month.
DON'T FORGET: MEMBERSHIP SURVEY
In our continuing effort to support our members, we encourage you to complete the 2015 Membership Survey. The recommendations and key points of interest indicated by our members will help craft our decisions going forward. Your candid feedback is critical and will help L.A. Tourism determine which member benefits are important to you and ultimately assist us with future program planning. Please click here and complete the 2015 L.A. Tourism Membership Survey.
L.A. TOURISM LAUNCHES DEDICATED MICROSITES FOR AFFINITY MARKETS
Recognizing the importance of African-American, Asian/Pacific-Islander, gay & lesbian and Latino visitors to the local economy, L.A. Tourism has launched a dedicated microsite for each affinity group, with content, images, itineraries, destinations and resources to promote L.A. as a unique and welcoming destination for these audiences. Together, these affinity markets account for more than 17 million annual visitors to L.A. who spend a minimum of more than $3 billion in the local economy each year.
When Prop 8 was repealed in summer of 2013, L.A. Tourism led other California destinations in celebrating by launching the first LGBT-visitor microsite within minutes of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended California’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Additional microsites were launched soon after during major cultural heritage months, starting with the Latino microsite during Latino Heritage Month in September 2014.
L.A. Tourism’s third affinity market microsite was launched during Black History Month in February 2015. Last month, L.A. Tourism unveiled its fourth and final affinity-market microsite during Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
These microsites will be refreshed with new content regularly, reflecting all that L.A.’s regions offer these important visitor markets.
Learn more by visiting the African American microsite, Asian/Pacific Islander microsite, Latino microsite, and the LGBT microsite. If you are interested in submitting content and/or suggestions for consideration, please contact Jane Shim at jshim@latourism.org.
L.A. Tourism Partners with the YouTube of China
L.A. Tourism has partnered with the largest online video portal in China (Youku) to create a six-episode series highlighting Los Angeles to their audience of 500 million monthly active users. The series, titled “Travel with Movies,” follows Li Jian (one of China’s most popular singers) as he discovers Los Angeles through the lens of Hollywood and the entertainment industry. The series has already generated more than 10 million views and is being featured on the Youku homepage, where it is expected to generate more than 200 million impressions.
Trailer: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTU1NjQ1MzY0.html
Series landing page: http://travel.youku.com/tm2015/index
THE 2015 SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD GAMES NEEDS YOU!
7,000 Athletes. 177 Countries. 25 Sports.
In a city full of movie stars and all-stars, Special Olympics athletes will be the stars of the show this summer! The 2015 Special Olympics World Games will feature nine days of challenging sports competition among 7,000 Special Olympics athletes from around the world. Join world leaders, celebrities and dignitaries to cheer on these athletes as they compete in 25 sports. Come join the fun, show support and register for the “Fans in the Stands” program. All competition events are FREE and open to the public!
The inspiring Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics World Games Los Angeles 2015 will take place Saturday, July 25, 2015 at the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the only venue in the world to host two Olympiads (1932 and 1984), two Super Bowls (I and VII) and one World Series (1959). The star-studded show will celebrate the true stars of the Games - the athletes of Special Olympics, the Parade of Athletes, the culmination of the Final Leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run and lighting of the Special Olympics cauldron. To purchase tickets, visit Ticketmaster at: http://bit.ly/1dyHBWh
California Travel Association’s 33rd Annual Travel Summit June 17-19
Join 500 tourism industry leaders at California Travel Association’s 33rd annual Travel Summit June 17-19, 2015 at the Portola Hotel & Spa in beautiful Monterey, CA. CTS is a fantastic educational event with speakers, workshops and breakout sessions. To register, click here.
Industry News & Notes
- In an interview with USA TODAY, U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker says the U.S. is on pace to welcome 100 million international visitors annually by 2021. This can be attributed to efforts such as the expansion of the visa waiver program and the decrease of visa wait times. Other efforts include increasing the number of countries whose citizens don't have to get visas, improving the arrival process at 17 U.S. airports, and expanding a program that allows travelers from other countries to go through customs before boarding their flights to the USA. Last year, U.S. attracted 74 million international visitors who spent an estimated $222 billion.
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) estimates 24.6 million passengers will pass through the airport this summer travel season, an increase of 6.7 percent over last summer's record of 23,066,723 travelers. Almost all of June, July, and August will experience higher passenger levels compared to last summer. The busiest day of the summer is expected to be Monday, July 27, with a projected 245,000 passengers -- a single-day record for LAX. With the July 4 Independence Day holiday to be celebrated on Friday, July 3 this year, the first two weeks of July are expected to be extremely busy. Travel experts attribute this year's increase at LAX to several factors: more available seats as airlines at LAX continue transitioning to larger aircraft with extra seats on most existing flights; the addition of several new international destinations by airlines new to LAX, as well as added flights on existing routes; increased tourism in Los Angeles from growing markets in the Asia-Pacific Region; and favorable exchange rates making overseas travel far more affordable for Americans going to destinations in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Canada - all popular with Southern Californians.
- American Airlines will replace a portion of Qantas’s flights between Los Angeles and Australia in December. American will operate the Sydney-Los Angeles route beginning December 17 with a daily service operated by three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
- Air China will add three extra flights a week to Los Angeles this summer with frequency of the new service increasing to daily beginning July 1, 2015.
L.A. IN THE NEWS
The L.A. Tourism PR team has been working hard to keep L.A. and it’s members and partners in the news and on the minds of travelers around the globe. The PR team has been rolling out coordinated media efforts, pitching and securing stories about L.A. and our members to top-tier consumer and travel trade publications in the U.S. and abroad. Here is a sampling of recent media coverage on the destination:
DOMESTIC
Miami Magazine – June 1, 2015
Summer Escapes
To read the full story click here.
Conde Nast Traveler – May 1, 2015
If they build it, we will go
To read the full story click here.
INTERNATIONAL
CorreiPopular de Campinas (Brazil) - June 1, 2015
Cenario real
To read the full story click here.
O Globo, Boa Viagem (Brazil) - June 11, 2015
Los Angeles aposta na revitalizacao de areas alternatives sem esquecer pontos mais famosos
To read the full story click here.