Los Angeles experienced the largest number of visitors and spending in the history of the city in 2011.

A total of 26.9 million people visited LA in 2011, an increase of 4.2 per cent on the number of overnight visitors recorded in 2010.

Tourist spending also rose, with visitors accounting for $15.2 billion in expenditures – an eight per cent increase from the previous year.

“This year’s impressive growth in tourism is great news for our local businesses that rely on tourist spending to make their companies both successful and profitable,” said Mark Liberman, president, the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

“The increase was experienced in all areas of our city as indicated by increased occupancy at hotels and attendance at restaurants, attractions and cultural institutions.

“This is significant for the LA economy as one out of ten jobs are related to tourism and the industry employs 364,000 persons.”

International visitors made one of the largest impacts on LA’s tourism, with 5.9 million visitors to the City, a seven per cent increase over last year.

International travellers also had a visible increase in spending— 12 per cent more in 2011—totalling nearly $5.5 billion in revenue.

For the second time in a row, Australia is LA’s top overseas market.

Recognising the importance of the LA market, Australia now has more seat capacity for arriving flights than any overseas country.