L.A. Tourism at Work - August 2018

Visit California Brazil Sales Mission
L.A. Tourism’s International Tourism team participated in Visit California’s Brazil Sales Mission to Rio de Janiero, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte from June 18-22, 2018. During the mission, staff shared the latest destination updates including the newest L.A. hotels and product offerings to over 250 luxury and trade agents.

Visit California Mexico Sales Mission
L.A. Tourism’s International Tourism team participated in Visit California’s Mexico Sales Mission to Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara from March 12-16, 2018. During the mission, staff shared the latest destination updates including the newest L.A. hotels and product offerings to over 340 trade agents.

Sales Calls in Sao Paulo
In partnership with Citadel Outlets, Universal Studios Hollywood and Warner Bros Studio Tour, L.A. Tourism participated in sales calls to nine top trade agencies in Sao Paulo, Brazil from June 25-27, 2018. The team visited Travel Trade, CVC Corp, Queensberry Viagens, MMT Gapnet Flytour, and TPI to promote the newest destination offerings. The group also hosted a networking dinner to strengthen relationships with Brazil’s travel trade while showcasing Los Angeles as a premier travel destination.

L.A. Tourism in Germany
L.A. Tourism’s Germany rep Ines Niehues conducted a destination training for 14 service center agents from Explorer Fernreisen and CANUSA on July 12, 2018 as she shared the latest L.A. products and developments while introducing the L.A. Insider online training module.

HIS Seminar with BrandUSA Japan
In partnership with BrandUSA Japan, L.A. Tourism conducted an in-house training seminar for 100 new staff at HIS from July 11-13, 2018. Representative Emiko Morimoto shared the latest destination updates highlighting LAX Airport’s modernization, new and upcoming L.A. hotels and attractions, as well as luxury dining restaurants.

BrandUSA Sales Mission in Korea
L.A. Tourism's South Korea representative Yae Hwon Kim participated in BrandUSA’s Sales Mission to Korea from July 11-12, 2018. Yae Hwon participated in travel mart sessions to enhance relationships with agents throughout the market, sharing the destination’s latest updates including LAX Airport’s modernization as well as the newest L.A. hotels and attractions. A total 27 U.S. partners including DMOs, hotels, and attractions along with 32 Korean travel agencies participated in the mission. 

Visit California Luxury Operators Mission
L.A. Tourism’s U.K. office participated in Visit California’s Luxury Operators Mission held at Soho Farmhouse in England’s Oxfordshire countryside. The two-day mission, emulating California’s laid-back luxury lifestyle, welcomed 16 top U.K. luxury operators who participated in networking sessions and quintessential California activities such yoga, tennis and horse riding. Francine Sheridan shared the latest destination updates and newest luxury offerings with the group. 

L.A. Tourism in China
Chengdu Office Celebrates First Anniversary
L.A. Tourism’s Chengdu Office celebrated its first anniversary on July 26, 2018 with a reception, welcoming 28 trade representatives and distinguished guests including Consul General Jim Mullinax, Deputy Consular Section Chief Chelan Bliss, President and Executive Director of Sister Cities of L.A. Fabiola Vilchez, as well as other airline and travel partners. Regional Director Kate Chang delivered remarks highlighting the office’s accomplishments and milestones from the past year such as the launch of direct air service from Chengdu and Chongqing to LAX by Hainan Airlines. The latest ‘Everyone is Welcome’ campaign was showcased at the reception, which encourages travelers to see L.A.’s diverse faces and places.

Training at Zuzuche.com
In partnership with Visit California, L.A. Tourism’s Guangzhou office conducted an in-house training for 11 staff at Zuzuche.com, one of the industry’s largest car rental companies, on July 4, 2018. Staff shared the latest destination updates, highlighting LAX Airport's modernization and direct air services as well as the newest L.A. attractions and experiences. Zuzuche.com’s L.A. business was ranked first in the U.S. among Chinese travelers from 2017 to the first half of 2018.

L.A. Angels Salon
Co-organized by Citadel Outlets, L.A. Tourism’s China office conducted L.A. Angels Salon events for 24 luxury and tailor-made trade representatives in Guangzhou and Beijing from July 5-6 and July 12-13, 2018, respectively. Staff shared the latest destination updates, highlighting LAX Airport's modernization and direct air services as well as the newest L.A. attractions and shopping experiences. The L.A. Mini Products/Packages were also promoted to provide more in-depth destination training and itineraries while our social media channels including WeChat and L.A. Angels’ Friends were also introduced. 

2018 Global Tailor-Made & High-end Travel Summit
L.A. Tourism’s China director Kate Chang participated in the 2018 Global Tailor-Made & High-end Travel Summit and Destination Resource Matchmaking Meeting hosted by Tourism Media on July 10, 2018. Kate joined a panel discussion on “The Future of Tailor-Made Travel,” where she promoted the L.A. Mini Products/ Packages as an essential tool for tailor-made travel and discussed how L.A. Tourism is showcasing Los Angeles as a premier travel destination. At the booth, staff shared the latest destination updates, highlighting LAX Airport's modernization and direct air services as well as the newest L.A. attractions and shopping experiences.

In-house Trainings for Tongcheng
L.A. Tourism’s China office organized a co-op marketing campaign with Tongcheng, one of the main OTAs in China, to jointly promote LAX, TMD hotels and L.A. in-depth tours, etc. A series of 12 in-house trainings are scheduled for the frontline sales staff in different outlets of Tongcheng. Staff conducted destination trainings for 37 sales staff in Chengdu on July 10, in Shanghai on July 17, and in Wuhan on July 24.

BrandUSA Roadshow
L.A. Tourism’s China offices participated in BrandUSA’s roadshows in Harbin, Shenyang and Wuhan throughout July, attracting 510 trade representatives from Northern China and Hubei province. Staff shared the latest destination updates, highlighting LAX Airport's modernization and direct air services as well as the newest L.A. attractions and shopping experiences. The L.A. Mini Products/Packages were also promoted to provide more in-depth destination training and itineraries while our social media channels including WeChat and L.A. Angeles Academy were also introduced. 

Luxury Tourism Resources with UA
In cooperation with United Airlines, L.A. Tourism’s Shanghai office organized a networking event with UA to promote L.A.'s luxury tourism resources on July 12, 2018. Staff shared a presentation highlighting L.A.’s luxury hotels, unique and luxury experiences including Porsche Experience Center, Exotics Racing, luxury cruises, as well as The Private Suite at LAX.

In-house Trainings in Wuhan
L.A. Tourism’s Shanghai office conducted sales calls and trainings at Dynasty's Travel (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. and Hubei Airlines Holiday International Travel Service Co., Ltd. from July 24-25, 2018. Staff shared the latest destination updates, highlighting LAX Airport's modernization and direct air services as well as the newest L.A. attractions and shopping experiences. The L.A. Mini Products/Packages were also promoted to provide more in-depth destination training and itineraries while our social media channels including WeChat and L.A. Angeles Academy were also introduced.

Cvent Connect 2018
A group of staff from L.A. Tourism’s Sales team attended Cvent Connect held in Las Vegas from July 23-26, 2018 where some of whom also received certifications from the sales platform. As a high-level sponsor of the event, L.A. Tourism received a prominent booth placement on the show floor with partners Wolfgang Puck Catering, Warner Bros. Studio Hollywood, and Universal Studios Hollywood. The team met with 130 meeting professionals to showcase Los Angeles as a premier meetings and events destination.

Northeast Region Client Event
L.A. Tourism’s Sales team held an event for clients from the Northeast region at the Parker House in Sea Girt, New Jersey on July 27, 2018. Sales Directors Ann Janes-Quinn and Angie Martin hosted 25 clients at the iconic Jersey Shore destination for a happy hour event at the beach, sharing the destination’s latest meetings and events offerings with the group.

In July, L.A. Tourism’s Communications team hosted a destination awareness trip for a journalist from a premier finance publication in India for future editorial coverage. His itinerary highlighted the destination’s ‘only-in-L.A.’ attractions and experiences including OUE SkyspaceLA, Angel’s Flight Railway a tour of celebrity homes with Starline Tours, as well as shopping at Figat7th in Downtown and Santa Monica Place. Accommodations were hosted by The Westin Los Angeles Airport.

In July, the team co-hosted a media trip with Visit West Hollywood in partnership with Kimpton Hotels to highlight the Kimpton Everly in Hollywood and Kimpton La Peer in West Hollywood, as well as each hotel’s respective neighborhood. In Hollywood, media enjoyed a dineL.A. Exclusive Series dinner with a ‘zero waste’ cocktail demonstration at Providence, and a hike with Bikes & Hikes LA. Participating media outlets included TravelChannel.com, AFAR, Phoenix Magazine, Variety, and San Jose Mercury News. Coverage in these outlets is expected to run in the coming months, including a feature Hollywood story on TravelChannel.com highlighting hidden neighborhood gems.

The team supported the 2018 Summer dineL.A. launch with an aggressive PR strategy that continued to celebrate the program’s 10-year anniversary while inspiring visitation to L.A. A media preview for dineL.A.’s exclusive series was held at Umeda restaurant, hosting top tier digital influencers from target markets as they shared their dineL.A. meals with their audiences. Results included $1.04M in estimated ad value, nearly 80 million impressions with 50% of feature coverage.

Also in July, the team spearheaded the media efforts to support the launch of Sparrow Mart, a fully felted art installation comprised of over 31,000 items grocery store items (made of felt!) from British artist Lucy Sparrow at The Standard Downtown LA. Media outreach, an intimate press preview as well as individual media visits post-launch resulted in coverage across a variety of outlets geared towards travel, lifestyle, local and millennial audiences including Travel + Leisure, Smithsonian, Popsugar.com, VICE, Tastemade and USAToday.