Just ahead of the Lunar New Year festivities, Los Angeles is touting its premier status as the go-to US destination for Chinese visitors.
Announcing record tourist arrivals for the sixth consecutive year, LA is the first city in the US to welcome more than one million Chinese visitors.
The China market grew 22% in 2016, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said, making it the seventh year in a row where China growth has been at least 20%.
China is LA’s second biggest overseas source market behind Mexico and China alone was responsible for 75% of international growth last year.
L.A. Tourism opens its fourth representative office in Chengdu later this year.
It already has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Overall, Los Angeles welcomed 47.3 million visitors in 2016.
"Tourism is booming in Los Angeles, and it’s helping to drive our whole city’s economy forward. My goal is to welcome 50 million tourists to our city by 2020," Mayor Garcetti said.
Ernest Wooden Jr., president & CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board said: "Global desire for the Los Angeles experience is at an all-time high, a fact largely attributable to our city’s celebration of diversity and creativity, from which thriving culinary, cultural and lifestyle scenes have emerged."
