Move over, Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The hot new Southern California tourist attractions are the restaurants, boutiques and tattoo parlors where some of reality television's most popular shows are filmed.
Tourists from as far away as Germany fly in to visit the West Hollywood tattoo shop featured in the Learning Chanel's "LA Ink." Fans of the E! Entertainment Television hit "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" stream into the Calabasas clothing stores run by the show's stars. And sightseers and diners alike jam the pricey West Hollywood eatery frequented by personalities on MTV's "The Hills."
For decades, visitors have jumped on tour buses to see Los Angeles' conventional attractions, including the former homes of Judy Garland and Madonna and the concrete footprints of Marilyn Monroe in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. But the rise of reality television has created new must-see locations.
Among the more popular places is High Voltage Tattoo on North La Brea Avenue, where the weekly show "LA Ink" is filmed with real tattoo artists and real customers.
On a recent afternoon, Jade Davidson and Bryce Elliot, 19-year-old college buddies from British Columbia, watched an artist use a buzzing tattoo machine to create a flowery design on a woman's back as a camera recorded it all. Meanwhile, a director urged a crowd at the shop to be quiet.
Davidson and Elliot had driven all the way from Canada to get a permanent souvenir from the artists they see on the show every Thursday night. And they couldn't wait to go under the needle.
"We wanted to get tattoos and we like the show, so here we are," Davidson said.
What sets such tourist attractions apart from the more traditional spots is that the worldwide appeal of reality TV draws hordes of visitors -- and that is a big plus, particularly during today's tough economic climate.
Los Angeles County's tourism industry can use all the help it can get. The county's hotel occupancy rate for the first four months of 2009 was down 14% from the same period last year, according to a report for LA Inc., the city's convention and visitors bureau. Airline passenger numbers at Los Angeles International Airport, Bob Hope Airport in Burbank and John Wayne Airport in Orange County have seen double-digit drops compared with last year.
"It's a new element that we are seeing that we are able to tap into to promote the city," said Robin McCain, a spokeswoman for the visitors bureau.
