LA becomes No.1 US destination for Chinese tourists in 2016

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The number of Chinese visitors to Los Angeles in 2016 increased by more than 22 percent over last year, making it the first US city to have more than 1 million visitors from China.

According to the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LA Tourism), China surpassed Canada as the second-biggest source of international visitors to Los Angeles, behind Mexico in 2016.

The total spending of Chinese tourists in the second largest city of the US isn’t clear yet. But the board does have data that Chinese visitors directly spent 1.3 billion US dollars in Los Angeles in 2015, with the average daily spending per visitor 212 US dollars and the average length of stay 7.3 nights.

CFP Photo

"As the entertainment capital of the world, Los Angeles offers an endless array of iconic experiences that are attractive to the Chinese traveler such as the Hollywood sign, Universal Studios Hollywood, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Boulevard or seeing the Los Angeles Lakers play at Staples Center," said Ernest Wooden Jr, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.

Currently, there are 68 average non-stop weekly flights from China to Los Angeles, with a weekly average of 21,510 seats.

The tourism board said it will continue to invest in the market with plans to expand its footprint.

The Los Angeles skyline is seen during twilight on August 21, 2013 in California./ CFP Photo

Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province in southwest China, will become LA Tourism's fourth office in China, which was scheduled to open by the end of June 2017, joining Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

"Los Angeles recognized the vast potential of the inbound Chinese tourism market early on, as we were the first municipal tourism marketing organization in the US to open a full-time office in China (Beijing)," Wooden said.

Last year, total domestic visitation to LA reached 40.2 million, a 3.8 percent increase over 2015. An additional 7.1 million international visitors made the city their ultimate destination in 2016, a 3.5 percent rise over the previous year.

(Adapted from Xinhua, China Daily)

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