Los Angeles eyes 1.05 lakh Indian visitors in 2016

Los Angeles is looking to attract around 1.05 lakh Indian visitors in 2016 as it undertakes various initiatives to hard-sell itself as a preferred tourist destination.
"We are expecting 4.8 per cent growth year-on-year in numbers of Indian visitors to Los Angeles in 2016 amounting to around 1.05 lakh visitors," Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board President and CEO Ernest Wooden Jr. Told PTI.
In 2015, around 99,000 Indians visited Los Angeles, he added.
Detailing the type of visitors from India, Wooden Jr said: "It is a mix of leisure and business. Around 90 per cent of Indian visitors in 2015 were leisure while 10 per cent were business."

On the initiatives that Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board is taking to promote the city in India, he said: "Initially, the main focus is going to be to educate the travel trade community about what Los Angeles has to offer."
After that the board will talk to retail operators and eventually to the consumers directly, he added.

"The main attractions that Los Angeles offers to visitors is great sight seeing, beaches, amusement parks, Hollywood, shopping experience and diverse culinary scene," Wooden Jr said.
At present, China is among the top source markets for Los Angeles, "We are expecting the same kind of growth potential out of India in long term. The potential here is very huge."

On an average, Indian visitors' stay was 7.3 nights in Los Angeles in 2014, with an average per visitor spend of USD 108 per day.
Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board is a private, non-profit business association with a mandate to promote the city as a preferred destination.