For the seventh consecutive year, Los Angeles welcomed a record number of visitors in 2017, with 48.3 million people traveling to the city, with an all-time high of 41.2 million domestic visitors. The total is 1 million visitors higher than 2016’s total. Beyond domestic travel to Los Angeles, the city experienced a 6 percent increase in Chinese visitors, 5.5 percent increase in Canadian visitors, 6.3 percent increase in South Korean visitors and 4 percent increase in Indian visitors.

“We are powering Los Angeles’ economy to new heights every year, because we know that lasting prosperity means investing boldly in jobs, opportunity, and growth,” said Eric Garcetti, mayor, Los Angeles. “The expansion of our travel and tourism sector tells the story of a city whose moment has arrived — and we will continue pushing forward as we expand our role on the world stage, and prepare to welcome the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028.”

Ernest Wooden Jr., president and CEO, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, credits the growth to L.A. Tourism’s “Everyone is Welcome” initiative.

“Our ‘Everyone is Welcome’ campaign was the right message at the right time; it was a message of humanity and encouraged people around the globe to see the diversity of L.A.’s faces and places,” he said. “In 2018, we will extend and amplify our message of ‘welcome’ and intertwine a message of hospitality, fueling even greater momentum toward our north star of 50 million visitors by the year 2020.”

Tourism supports 517,000 jobs in Los Angeles, and visitors generated at least $300 million in transient occupancy tax collections for the city last year.