10 things you might not know about LA tourism
1. In 2014 the city had 44.2 million visitors, which is roughly four times the population of Greece
2. Los Angeles is the largest conurbation in California, which will shortly be recognised as the 7th largest economy in the world.
3. Visitors (or visitations if you are American) accounted for $30 billion of spend in 2014, which is twice the GDP of Jamaica
4. Los Angeles Airport (LAX) has had $8.5 billion spent on it in the last few years and will have 18 new gates, nine of which will handle A380s, making it one of the world’s largest facilities
5. With 7,000 athletes and 3,000 coaches representing 177 countries, along with 30,000 volunteers and an anticipated 500,000 spectators, the Special Olympics World Summer Games , the global sporting event for people with intellectual disabilities, will take place in Los Angeles this summer.
6. 39 new hotels will be completed within the next two years offering 8,000 new rooms, equating to roughly 500 average UK hotels
7. The Los Angeles Metro will shortly extend its run from Hollywood all the way down to the coast to Santa Monica, as well as a new Metro station at LAX linked to the new subway system. Los Angles without a car??
8. There are more museums in Los Angeles than in any other city in the world – #oldschool
9. You can now catch a direct service from LAX to over 67 countries in the world, which helps fill the four runways which also accommodate almost 1.5 million passengers each year going direct to London Heathrow
10. In 2015, the Fast and the Furious ride begins business at Universal Studios in Los Angeles and in 2016 The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will open and seek hundreds and thousands of muggles for ‘visitations’.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt