Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined Council President Eric Garcetti, Councilmembers Janice Hahn and Tom LaBonge, Universal Studios President Larry Kurzweil and Mark Liberman, CEO of LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau today to roll out “That’s So LA” – a new marketing campaign designed to attract visitors to top local landmarks, expand the tourism industry, and create good-paying jobs for LA’s workers.
“Tourism is the lifeblood of our economy, and we cannot afford to let the benefits of this industry stop flowing to the heart of our City,” Villaraigosa said. “This campaign is L.A.’s latest blockbuster hit, and standing center stage and playing the leading role is a new set of ads and images that lead tourists and Angelenos to think to themselves: ‘That’s SO LA’.”
The campaign features a series of ads that highlight unique sites around the City and showcase major attractions and top personalities in new and exciting ways. This effort includes images of basketball stars Kobe Bryant and Baron Davis; Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson; Lauren Conrad, star of “The Hills”; and soccer phenom David Beckham.
“No other destination even comes close to offering the scope of entertainment, sporting and cultural events and venues that have the potential to draw people to our City,” Garcetti said. “From the Oscars to the Grammys, from the World Baseball Classic to the World Figure Skating Championships, from crowd-pleasing musicals to film festivals, it’s all so L.A.”
“Tourism is the second largest industry in Los Angeles. For every 4 percent increase in tourism, we get an additional $12 million for the General Fund,” Hahn said. “That is why, particularly in this difficult economy, we need to focus on attracting visitors from around the world.”
The campaign will be marketed through a mix of media channels consisting of a robust on-line marketing strategy, and regional print and radio buys. Specific focus will be placed on Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, LA’s largest feeder market. Locally, visitors and residents will soon be seeing ads at LAX terminals; and over the next few months, it will be rolled out on-line to key domestic and international markets.
“Initially, the new campaign will target regional visitors and promote cost effective vacation alternatives for Southern California visitors looking for an adventurous ‘staycation’ or getaway closer to home,” said Mark Liberman. “Our plan is to take advantage of the 21 million people living right here in Southern California because the regional visitor offers the greatest potential for LA tourism in the coming months.”
Timed to coincide with the launch of this campaign is the debut of LA INC.’s expanded and revamped website, www.discoverlosangeles.com, where visitors and Angelenos can find local attractions, make reservations, and book hotel rooms throughout the LA area. The website also offers residents the opportunity to help build the tourism effort by creating their own advertisements online.
Tourism represents the second-largest industry in Los Angeles, supporting more than 250,000 jobs and bringing in $14.2 billion in the past year. In addition, the City attracted 26 million visitors in 2008 and continued to serve as a primary destination for travelers from South Korea, Japan, China, Mexico, El Salvador and locations throughout Europe and the United States.
China has been LA’s fastest growing international market for several years and now that leisure travel groups are allowed to travel to the U.S. within the past year, these numbers are projected to continue to grow. South Koreans have recently been permitted to travel to the U.S. without a visa creating confidence that travel from South Korea will be up in 2009.
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