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International Visitors Boost L.A. Economy

L.A.'s tourism industry is back on track thanks to international visitors. 4.5 million foreign tourists visited Los Angeles last year spending more than $4.5 billion locally, according to
LA Inc., The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. The 20 percent boost in tourism is a bright spot in a sluggish economy and points out again the growing purchasing power of people around the world. Federal and local governments can keep this momentum going by supporting the right policies.

The tourism rebound can be traced back to a few key factors including expansion of the U.S. Visa Waiver program to South Korea in 2008, new daily flights to China and Australia and the addition of the A380 on major South Pacific routes. South Korean and Chinese tourism are up 54 percent and 80 percent, respectively. Australia contributes the single largest group of visitors — driven in part by 8,210 additional weekly airline seats available to our friends down under.

Improving visa access is essential. Global tourism is on the rise, and the United States often loses out because of the onerous process to obtain a visa. After 9/11, we enacted very stringent visa requirements and failed to invest the resources to manage visa applications in a reasonable time. That failure, according to the U.S. Travel Association, has cost the United States half a trillion dollars in lost tourism dollars over the past decade.

Chileans, for example, have to wait two or more months for a U.S. Embassy visa interview. Chile applied for the waiver program just last week, a process that could take at least two years. To accommodate Chileans and other nations, Congress should invest in more consular officers at our foreign embassies and facilitate expedited visitor programs for high-frequency tourism and business travelers. That plan would be a real stimulus to the economy and help us balance the trade deficit with countries like China, which has millions of citizens who have the financial resources to visit the United States.

Locally, we can help by supporting LAX modernization. Key airport improvements are well underway including construction of a new international terminal, updated food and concessions, and the upcoming consolidated rental car facility. However, consensus to fix the two northern runways is the missing ingredient.

The runways on the north airfield must be rebuilt to accommodate the next generation of larger, cleaner and quieter aircraft like the Boeing 747 and 787 and the Airbus A380. The two 1960s era runways are too close together to operate these large aircraft at a normal frequency. When one of these large international planes is on the runway, other flights have to wait longer to land or takeoff.

Moving ahead on these policies at the federal and local level will help L.A.'s tourism economy — especially hotels, restaurants, retailers and cultural institutions. In the meantime, when you meet an international visitor, make sure to smile and say "Welcome to L.A."

And that's The Business Perspective.