“This is L.A.’s moment,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti, announcing the news of a sixth consecutive record-breaking year for tourism in Los Angeles as “further evidence of the city’s ability to deliver an unforgettable Games-time experience in 2024.”
In 2016 47.3 million visitors were drawn to the City of Angels’ beaches, mountain trails, world-class sports events and diverse cultural attractions, an increase of nearly 4 percent on 2015. Speaking at the “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal Studios Hollywood, the Mayor added:. “Los Angeles is welcoming more visitors to our city and passengers through our airport than ever before, our nation leading Port is making L.A. an even more critical trade gateway to the world, and we are experiencing the kind of job growth that we haven’t seen in a generation “We’re working hard to keep up the momentum, by going after and landing one-of-a-kind attractions like the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. And here’s the best part: there’s even more opportunity on the horizon, and an even bigger role for L.A. to play on the world stage.”
LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said: “The continued increase in LA’s already impressive tourism numbers reinforces our belief that the City of Angels would serve as the perfect stage for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. From our wealth of new cultural attractions and restaurants, to our abundance of world-class sporting venues and breath-taking natural beauty, LA has it all. LA 2024 is eager to show off the New LA to the world, and put our city’s best at the service of the Olympic Movement to create the best possible Games experience for all stakeholders.”
According to the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, the city welcomed 47.3 million visitors in 2016 — an increase of nearly 4 percent over 2015. The city’s airport also broke its record for total number of passengers for the third consecutive year. In 2016, 80.9 million travelers passed through the airport, an increase of more than 8 percent over last year. Of those travelers, 22.6 million — or more than 28 percent — were international. The Port of Los Angeles broke a record of its own, moving more cargo in 2016 than ever in its 100-year history. The Port shipped 8.8 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) last year, the most ever by a port in the Western Hemisphere.
The city has also added numerous high-profile attractions in recent years. Earlier this week, Mayor Garcetti announced that Los Angeles has been chosen as home the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art — adding another cultural treasure to L.A.’s collection of renowned civic institutions. In addition, the tourism sector has benefited from new investments in attractions like “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal Studios Hollywood. “With Comcast NBCUniversal’s unprecedented $1.5 billion investment in the company’s core businesses of production and tourism, Universal Studios Hollywood has achieved record-breaking attendance, created thousands of jobs and had a positive impact on the region’s economy,” said Ron Meyer, Vice Chairman, NBCUniversal.
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.