Words from Wooden - May 2016

Greetings all the way from Sydney, Australia! I’m writing this month’s “Words from Wooden” following the Tripartite Summit in Auckland, New Zealand which I attended with Mayor Eric Garcetti and a delegation of representatives from Los Angeles World Airports, the Port of Lost Angeles and the Los Angles Business Council.

The second Tripartite Summit between sister cities Los Angeles, Guangzhou and Auckland, this year’s summit focused on technology, innovation, architecture, design and tourism. Mayor Garcetti and I promoted tourism to Los Angeles through events with Air New Zealand and American Airlines, which begins daily flights between LAX and Auckland this June.

After Auckland, our tourism delegation traveled to Sydney to accelerate L.A. Tourism’s marketing efforts in the region. I’ll be speaking with several Australian media to promote our great destination as well as conduct meetings with airline partners such as Qantas and Virgin Australia to increase accessibility. This region is our second largest overseas market and is the biggest source of inbound passengers to LAX.

And earlier this month, the country’s tourism community championed the power of the travel industry during National Travel and Tourism Week. And in celebration, I delivered fantastic news to the Los Angeles City Council with regards to the strength and impact of L.A.’s thriving tourism industry.

It was another banner year for tourism in Los Angeles: 45.6 million visitors injected a record $20.6 billion into our local economy generating $31.6 billion in total economic impact including the induced and indirect benefits. And that’s just the beginning - you’ll be able to read the rest of the important figures in this month’s News & Notes section.  

These are just a few of the many updates on L.A. Tourism and our industry that we’re sharing with you in this month’s newsletter. As always, L.A. Tourism is working on behalf of all of our members and partners to keep the world coming to Los Angeles.

Best wishes,
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Ernest Wooden Jr.
President and CEO
Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board