Note from Adam - April 2022
Dear Valued Tourism Partners,
I always find that the arrival of spring brings a sense of renewal and hope as the sun shines longer and brighter on our City of Angels. This is particularly true this year, with promising signs of recovery as we work together to write L.A.’s comeback story.
As we expand our focus on the international marketplace – which will be absolutely critical to achieving full recovery – I wanted to share a few highlights that provide some very real reasons to be optimistic. I’d also like to recognize the ongoing efforts of our international team members around the world. As you know, LA Tourism remains the only U.S. DMO to have its own full-time offices and staff overseas, and their tireless efforts to keep L.A. top-of-mind with the travel trade and our airline partners are vital to our ongoing success.
• Our partners at Los Angeles World Airports recently shared that more than 4 million passengers traveled through LAX in February, marking a 150% increase from the same month last year. While some of this is certainly attributable to the increased demand we enjoyed leading up to the Super Bowl, it’s also an indication that consumer sentiment and travel intent are now at their highest levels since the onset of the pandemic.
• At the beginning of the month, Qantas resumed direct flights from Brisbane to LAX, reconnecting L.A. to all three key Australian markets for the first time in two years. This is particularly noteworthy since Australia has consistently been one of our top five international feeder markets.
• We also continue to see an increase in new, direct air service from a host of carriers including Zipair (Tokyo), French Bee (Paris), Air Transat (Montreal starting in May) and Condor (Frankfurt beginning in May). This shows that our international airline partners have tremendous confidence in the long-term growth potential of their L.A. routes.
• Perhaps most exciting, I had the opportunity to join Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta and a delegation of 14 other Golden State destination CEOs for our first mission to Mexico since 2019. As you’ll likely recall, L.A. has historically welcomed more guests from Mexico than any other international market, and the mission provided a welcome opportunity to meet with major Mexican consumer, business, and travel trade media outlets, as well as leaders from Mexico’s tourism industry.
Our time together was incredibly productive, and it’s clear that we are poised to see a strong resurgence of Mexican visitation this year – particularly among millennial, family, and luxury travelers. In fact, Tourism Economics projects that we will welcome 1.74 million guests from Mexico in 2022, surpassing 2019’s record-setting demand!
While there will certainly still be challenges ahead, I have every confidence that our local travel and tourism community is well-positioned to lead the way for L.A.’s economic recovery. Let’s get ready to roll out the red carpet for guests from around the world as they return to our City of Angels, where Everyone Is Welcome!
All My Best,
Adam
