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 In fact, China, which a decade ago was not a major player in
the Southern California tourism game, last year sent nearly
800,000 people to visit the shops, museums and tourist
attractions in and around America's second-largest city. And
Chinese tourists often stay longer and spend more money than
their counterparts from elsewhere in the world.
"There is a fascination in China for Los Angeles," Ernest
Wooden, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism and
Convention bureau told Reuters in an interview.
"It's easy to imagine that much of what the Chinese know about
living in the United States, the slang, the hip hop the
technology, comes from the movies," Wooden said. "And L.A. has
that pedigree."
That fascination drove a 13 percent increase in visitors from
China over 2014. Wooden said he expects the trend to continue
for at least another few years, defying that country's softening
economy.
Chinese travelers are also major educational tourists. Those
seeking a Western education for their children often choose UCLA
or the University of Southern California, which is second only
to New York University in enrolling foreign-born students.
Medical tourism draws patients from China to hospitals such as
Cedars Sinai, City of Hope and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical
Center, seeking cutting-edge treatments for cancer and other
serious illnesses.
WARM BEER AND KOBE BRYANT
Wooden also credits an aggressive outreach centered on the city
pitching its charms directly to the Chinese people, the first
major U.S. city to do so. The effort, which started with
ensconcing city employees in Beijing nearly a decade ago, was
later expanded to Shanghai and, this year, Guangzhou.
Last year Los Angeles launched its so-called NiHao China
program, which includes a Chinese-language website, a larger
presence on the popular Weibo social media site and partnerships
with major travel companies serving that market.
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Part of that marketing success involves the city's efforts to
understand and cater to Chinese tourists, Wooden said, most of whom
do not sunbathe and typically spend little time appreciating
Southern California's famed beaches.
Instead they are drawn by the museums, Hollywood, amusement parks
such as Disneyland in nearby Orange County and upscale shopping
centers, spending more than most tourists and tending to stay in
town longer.
Wooden said hotels have learned such cultural nuances as serving
beer warm, providing slippers for Chinese visitors who would rather
not walk barefoot on carpet and offering television stations that
broadcast in Mandarin.
Vicky Liu of Galaxy Tour Inc, which specializes in serving the
Chinese market, said Los Angeles has gotten some of those seemingly
smaller details right, such as having someone at hotels who can
speak the language
But Wooden concedes that the ground is moving under the city's feet.
A new, more sophisticated generation of travelers is coming into its
own, moving away from tour groups in favor of their own itineraries,
planned on smart phones.
"They will come here and rent cars on their own, they are wealthier,
often highly educated, and willing to venture out to San Francisco,
San Diego, Las Vegas. They love the Lakers, they deify Kobe Bryant.
That's a demographic shift," he said.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Sara Catania and Cynthia
Osterman)
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