TOM MULLEN NAMED CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER OF LATCB
Tom Mullen has been named LATCB’S Chief Administrative Officer, overseeing all operating functions including finance, human resources, member and visitor relations, as well as responsibility for new business development.
A seasoned travel and retail executive, Mullen joined LATCB in June, 2013, as Senior Vice President, Strategic Alliances. Prior to that, he spent more than 20 years with American Express Travel Related Services, Inc. in a variety of positions including Vice President, Sales and Account Development, Merchant Services America, where he managed more than 1,600 merchant relationships throughout Los Angeles, Northern California and Hawaii; General Manager, Travel Services, Hawaii, Guam and Micronesia; Director, Merchant Services, Hawaii; Manager, Business Development and Strategic Planning; Manager, Finance & Administration; and Financial Analyst.
Mullen has also been very involved with the Los Angeles travel industry, serving two terms as Chairman of LATCB’s Board of Directors from 2009-2013.
LATCB EXPANDS INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT
Capitalizing on increased air service from key international markets and recognizing the ongoing growth potential of international visitation, LATCB has recently enhanced its international firepower with new representation in key markets. The Brandman Agency in Sydney, Australia led by Managing Director Susie Westwood is now on-board to increase Earned consumer media opportunities for the destination out of this 2nd largest overseas market for L.A. where visitation is forecasted to grow 5% in 2015. In addition, MN Organisation, led by founder Murielle Nouchy has been retained to represent LATCB in France; and Anette Kaiser-Rott will represent LATCB in Germany. MN Organisation has represented Visit California for the last several years and has previously done special projects for LATCB. Anette Kaiser-Rott has represented LATCB on a project basis for the last several years and will now formally represent the destination. Visitation from both countries is forecasted to grow by 3% in 2015.
LATCB has international offices in China, Japan, Australia and the UK; and representation in Brazil (Trade and PR), Germany (Trade), France (Trade), South Korea (Trade) and a dedicated consumer PR agency in the UK.
SHEENA YU JOINS LATCB AS DIRECTOR, CHINA SERVICES
Veteran international tourism professional Sheena Yu has joined LATCB as Director, China Services. She will be responsible for further developing and managing the organization’s groundbreaking NiHao China program, setting standards for Chinese visitor services throughout the Los Angeles tourism community; collaborating with L.A. Tourism’s offices in China to promote Los Angeles; leveraging new business opportunities with Chinese tourism organizations; and developing meetings and conventions business from China.
Yu has spent her entire career in international tourism, most recently serving as Vice President, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) Development for Galaxy Tours Inc., an internationally acclaimed travel agency, where she specialized in Chinese group meeting events. Prior to that, she was Co-Founder & Deputy General Manager of International Business for Golden Seagull Tours Inc., a Hawaii-based agency that specialized in custom tour packages for corporate and international VIP in-bound clientele working with such companies as Cadillac, Buick, Jaguar, Toyota, Kia, Amway and Prudential Life Insurance. She is frequently invited to speak to the expansion of the Chinese tourism market and ways to capture business from this market.
VISITORS SAVE BIG AT MUSEUMS IN THIRD ANNUAL L.A. MUSEUM SEASON
Visitors who book at least two hotel-room nights in Los Angeles Oct. 6-Nov. 14 will receive a special voucher for complimentary admission for two adults at nearly 30 of L.A.’s leading museums—a retail value of more than $350—in LATCB’s third annual L.A. Museum Season cultural tourism marketing campaign for out-of-county visitors. In addition, museums that do not charge admission such as the Getty, Hammer and Fowler, are offering discounts at their museum stores to visitors with the voucher. Participating museums include the Autry, Annenberg Space for Photography, Battleship USS Iowa, California Science Center, Craft & Folk Art Museum, GRAMMY® Museum at L.A. LIVE, Hollywood Museum, The Huntington, Kidspace Children's Museum, MOCA, Museum of Latin American Art, Museum of Tolerance, Natural History Museum, Norton Simon Museum, USC Pacific Asia Museum, Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, Paley Center for Media, Pasadena Museum of CA Art, Skirball Cultural Center, and more. On average, cultural tourists are more apt to stay in hotels, stay one day longer, and spend 50% more on their visit while in L.A. than average visitors.
AUSTRALIA’S #1 MORNING SHOW GOES LIVE FROM L.A.
In partnership with Brand USA, the LATCB PR team brought Australia’s top morning show, Sunrise on Ch. 7, to the City of Angels for a live 3-hour broadcast on Monday, Sept. 1, showcasing all the sun and fun the destination offers. The Hosts, who were live from Universal Studios Hollywood, experienced Downtown Los Angeles, the Valley and the Westside. The program’s weather girl was live from Venice Beach throughout the show; while their Entertainment Reporter was live from The Grove. As a bonus, while the anchors moved on to other cities in the U.S., the show’s Entertainment Reporter remained in Los Angeles for the entire week going live from a different location each day including the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, L.A. Live, Kitson on Melrose Ave., and Warner Brothers Studios.
DIGITAL INFLUENCERS ENJOY SPECIAL HOLLYWOOD BOWL EXPERIENCE
Last month, the digital team coordinated an exciting evening at the Hollywood Bowl for a group of social media influencers, in conjunction with the LA Philharmonic and Patina Restaurant Group. Eight photographers with a collective social following of close to one million fans were treated to an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Hollywood Bowl, including being able to stand on the famous stage and take photographs, before enjoying a sunset dinner at their choice of the Bowl’s many dining venues and hearing a fantastic nighttime performance by the LA Phil. They shared photos on Instagram, tagging LA Phil and the Hollywood Bowl, resulting in over half a million impressions from that evening alone.
BEIJING MUSEUM CELEBRATES ARTS FROM LOS ANGELES
Beijing’s Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, will proclaim Los Angeles as one of the world’s leading cities for contemporary art with an exhibition of works by emerging Los Angeles artists that provide a sampling of L.A.’s dynamic art scene. On view Sept. 13-Nov. 9, The Los Angeles Project is “the first comprehensive presentation in China of the art of Los Angeles…in a critical examination of the most important art centers in the Western world,” according to exhibition organizers. The Ullens’ more than 86,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space will be entirely devoted to the exhibition. LATCB will leverage this exciting exhibition of art from L.A. to promote cultural tourism to Los Angeles from our largest overseas visitor market through on-site presentations to Chinese cultural media and travel industry professionals about L.A.’s vast and diverse cultural offerings.
L.A. IN THE NEWS
Travel & Leisure: Curtain Call – L.A.’s Opulent Movie Palaces Make a Comeback
http://my.lainc.us/media/fy14-15/September2014/Travel+Leisure-Curtain_Ca... L.A.
Business Spotlight: Ernest Wooden Jr Interview
Listen here: http://www.iceboxlogic.net/la-business-spotlight.html
Conde Nast Traveller (UK), Around the U.S. in One Month
http://my.lainc.us/media/fy14-15/September2014/CondeNastTraveller-Venice...
Conde Nast Traveller (UK), Scene Stealers: All-Around Favorite Hotels in the U.S.
http://my.lainc.us/media/fy14-15/September2014/CondeNastTraveller-Chatea...
Departures International: Sublime Subsistence at Los Angeles' Grand Central Market
http://my.lainc.us/media/fy14-15/September2014/DeparturesMag-Summer2014.pdf
O Globo Newspaper (Brazil), Great L.A. Spaces
http://my.lainc.us/media/fy14-15/September2014/OGlobo-Boa-Viagem-Sept420...
INDUSTRY NEWS
NEW LOW-COST FLYAWAY® BUS SERVICE LAUNCHED BETWEEN LAX AND HOLLYWOOD
Los Angeles has launched a new, low-cost FlyAway® bus service between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Hollywood located at 6244 Hollywood Boulevard on the southeast corner of the intersection with Argyle Avenue – one block east of Hollywood and Vine. The new non-stop bus service operates hourly from 5:15 a.m. to 10:15 p.m. daily, including weekends and holidays. Service is provided 15 minutes after each hour. Fare is $8 one way. The FlyAway® bus stop drop off and pick up locations at LAX are in front of the Arrivals and Departures levels of each airline terminal.
METRO FARE CHANGES TO BE IMPLEMENTED SEPTEMBER 15 OFFERING FREE 2-HOUR TRANSFERS FOR STORED VALUE TAP CARD HOLDERS; STUDENT K-12 FARES UNCHANGED
Metro will implement new fare changes beginning Monday, September 15 that will include for the first time a two-hour period of free transfers on Metro's bus and rail system when using a stored value TAP (Transit Access Pass) card to pay for the base fare. The fare changes, following extensive public hearings and Board approval last May, will raise the price of the base cash fare from $1.50 to $1.75, the Day Pass from $5 to $7, the weekly pass from $20 to $25 and the monthly pass from $75 to $100. Students K-12 monthly passes sold for $24 and student cash fare of $1 remain unchanged.