MUMBAI: Los Angeles welcomed 48.31 million visitors in 2017, of which 1,21,000 travellers were from India, says a report.
India is an important and rapidly growing market for LA tourism and Indian traveller trends and demands have inspired added efforts to tap the market potential, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board (LA Tourism) President and CEO Ernest Wooden Jr said in a release issued here.
He said, India's performance, which was a growth of 4 per cent in 2017 over the previous year, is encouraging since it reflects the destination's preference amongst Indians planning trips to the US.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles welcomed overall 48.31 million international and domestic visitors in 2017.
International markets are recording significant gains for Los Angeles in 2017, including China with 1.1 million visitors (6 per cent increase), Canada with its highest visitor total ever at 7,47,000 (5.5 per cent increase) and South Korea with 3,15,000 visitors (6.3 per cent increase).
"The expansion of our travel and tourism sector tells the story of a city whose moment has arrived -— and we will continue pushing forward as we expand our role on the world stage, and prepare to welcome the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
The 'Everyone is Welcome' was a message of humanity and encouraged people around the globe to see the diversity of LA's faces and places, Wooden said.
"In 2018, we will extend and amplify our message of 'Welcome' and intertwine a message of hospitality, fuelling even greater momentum towards our north star of 50 million visitors by the year 2020," he added.
Tourism is among the largest contributors to the Los Angeles economy, supporting more than 5,17,000 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector last year.