LA becomes No.1 US destination for Chinese tourists

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles has become the first ever US city destination to receive more than 1 million Chinese visitors in one year, the authorities said Wednesday.

The year 2016 was a big year for LA's tourism industry. Besides reaching the mark of 1 million Chinese visitors, both the city's domestic and international visitation had reached an all time high, according to a report released by Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LA Tourism).

Last year, total domestic visitation to LA reached 40.2 million, a 3.8 percent increase over 2015. An additional 7.1 million international visitors also made the second largest city of the United States their ultimate destination, a 3.5 percent rise over the previous year, statistics showed.

"Tourism is booming in Los Angeles, and it's helping to drive our whole city's economy forward," said LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.

LA also plans to attract more tourists in the future, especially Chinese tourists.

In 2016, China was the second largest international market for LA, behind Mexico. China accounted for 75 percent of the destination's overall growth of international tourism and the number of Chinese visitors grew nearly 22 percent -- the seventh consecutive year of at least 20 percent visitation growth from that country.

LA Tourism will continue to invest in the market with plans to expand its footprint, the report said.

Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province in southwest China, will become L.A. Tourism's fourth office in China, which was scheduled to open by the end of June 2017, joining Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.