With a weak dollar providing bargains for overseas tourists and a spiffed-up city attracting close-to-home travelers, the Los Angeles area is expected to have attracted a record number of visitors this year, according to a report set to be released today.
LA Inc., the city's convention and visitors bureau, projects that 24.3 million tourists will have visited Los Angeles County in 2004. That's an increase of 4.1% over last year and tops the previous record of 24.2 million set in 2000.
And the trend is likely to continue next year, hoteliers and travel agents said, as the slumping greenback continues to lure bargain-hunting foreigners.
"It's phenomenal," said Mark Liberman, president of LA Inc. "This is the best year in terms of number of visitors in the city's history. We've added attractions. The city has a new look, a new feel. There's a vibrancy here."
Liberman and others cited a spruced-up Hollywood area, the new Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown L.A. and new attractions at local theme parks as big draws.
Orange County, with its beaches and Disneyland, also expects to set a tourism record this year. The Anaheim/Orange County Convention & Visitor Bureau projects that the county will have hosted 43.6 million visitors, up 2% from last year and higher than the previous record of 40.2 million in 2000.
In the Los Angeles area, visitor spending is expected to hit $12 billion, a gain of 7.8% from last year and the first time there has been a year-to-year increase since the 2000 record high of $13.3 billion.
All of which is welcome news for a region struggling with a soft economy and the sharp drop-off in tourism that followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That put a crimp in air travel, especially by foreigners.
"This ripples through the economy," said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "A record level of tourists and a big pop in spending -- this helps sales taxes and jobs."
In fact, a resurgence in international visitors -- up 8.4% this year, the first increase since 2000 -- is helping to drive the rebound. Travelers whose home currencies have strengthened dramatically against the dollar -- Japan, Canada, Australia and European Union countries are prime examples -- have been especially eager to take advantage of their increased buying power.
