Los Angeles Tourism, the official destination marketing and sales organisation for Los Angeles, has announced that tourism to Los Angeles County generated $34.5b in total business sales in 2022, Reaching 91% of 2019’s levels. The announcement was made at a joint event with Visit California and Los Angeles World Airports – lining up with the kick-off of California Tourism Month. More statistics released by the organisation have noted that:
- Over 528,200 tourism-related careers were generated last year along with $3b in state and local taxes: including $287m to the City’s General Fund
- Hotel demand grew in 2022 to reach nearly 30m room nights sold, 96.3% of 2019 levels.
- In 2023 hotel demand is expected to reach 31m room nights, 102% of 2019 levels.
- Because of the tourism industry, each LA County household saved $893 in annual state and local taxes.
In 2022, Los Angeles welcomed 46.2m visitors, including 41.9m domestic and 4.3m international visitors, meaning total visitation was 91.1% recovered to 2019 levels. During 2023, the organisation anticipates 50m visitors, reaching 98% of 2019 levels. “Over the course of the pandemic, we saw first-hand how indispensable tourism is to our community, with job losses of nearly 200,000 and $42.2 billion in lost business sales, impacting hundreds of small businesses across the region,” said Los Angeles Tourism president and CEO Adam Burke. “Thankfully, 2022 marked a major turning point in LA’s economic recovery.” International visits International visitation continues to be a key focus of Los Angeles Tourism. In 2022, it increased by nearly 2m visitors, representing an 81.7% year-over-year increase from 2021. Los Angeles’ top five international markets in 2022 were:
- Mexico (1,440,000)
- Canada (590,000)
- K./Ireland (300,000)
- France (240,000)
- Australia/New Zealand (230,000)
On upcoming international events, Los Angeles World Airports CEO, Justin Erbacci, commented: “We look forward to welcoming even more visitors from around the globe as our City prepares to host major events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.” Conventions Following the Los Angeles Convention Centre’s 18-month hiatus due to the pandemic, Los Angeles Tourism Meetings and Conventions welcomed 11 citywide conventions to the Los Angeles Convention Centre in FY 2021-2022, drawing nearly 300,000 attendees and generating 200,225 room nights for area hotels. Looking ahead, Los Angeles will host 21 confirmed meetings and events in 2023, which project to generate approximately $225m in total economic impact. Upcoming development Los Angles Tourism is using the term ‘LA 2.0’ to describe its infrastructure updates, designed to attract visitors. These include:
- $15b modernisation of Los Angeles International Airport, including 15 new gates.
- SUPER NINTENDO WORLD at Universal Studios Hollywood
- The Hammer Museum’s recent renovation
- Destination Crenshaw, set to open in 2024
In addition, the Los Angeles region has added over 7,400 hotel rooms since February 2020. 
Los Angeles Tourism’s year-end numbers were compiled by Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics Company, and Los Angeles Tourism.
