Los Angeles Tourism Market Outlook Forum | Wendy Kheel, VP of Tourism Insights, LATCB
Shared by admin Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Screen Shot 2013-08-14 at 11.49.31 AMWendy Kheel, Vice President of Tourism Insights at The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board has just stepped off the stage. Here’s some interesting insights about tourism in Los Angeles based on research done by LATCB.

Reasons Why People Visit Los Angeles

1. Weather
2.  Family
3.  Beaches
4.  Hollywood/Celebrities
5.  Theme Parks
6.  Museums and Visual Arts

•  How do visitors plan their trip to LA

1.  Opinion of friends and relatives
2.  Mobile Devices
3.  Reviews on websites
4.  Guidebooks
5.  Social media

•  Once they’re here how do they plan

1.  Mobile devices
2.  Friends and relatives

•  What do they do when they’re here:

1. Dining
2.  Shopping
3.  Visit a Beach
4.  Theme Park
5.  Cultural

•  Are they satisfied?

60% are very satisfied with their experience
35.7% are satisfied
Only .1%% are unsatisfied

Most say they are very likely to return.

•  What do visitors like?

Weather
Attractions
Beaches

•  What do they like least?
Traffic, by far.

•  How do they get here?
50% by air.
33% by car.

•  Who takes a road trip?

24% of Americans took a road trip
89% of them booked a hotel
Less than 25% of the road trippers bring kids.
A large percentage of road trippers book spontaeniously and use their mobile device to book a hotel while on the road.

•  LA has younger visitors.
We get lots of Millenials
Which means they have a need to “broadcast” their experiences on social media so we need to help them create those moments.
•  They have a genuine concern for the environment so we need to consider that.

•  Sleeping Over
At any given moment, about 25% of LA households have a guest sleeping over.
But they also tend to spend time in a hotel during the trip.

•  What do Los Angelenos think about tourism

Overall they like it.
It gives us great amenities
It supports the economy

“It’s the price you pay for living in paradise”

•What do hosts want?

More information.
Maps, bike trails, current events

•  What can we improve?
–Traffic
–more information
–Hosts often foot the bill for guests.
–They would like some incentives.
–They also would like expanded hours, because they work during the day.
–Interestingly, 93% of the Hosts, were also guests at local hotels.

That adds up to over 500,000 room nights!