by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:00 AM ET, Tue January 12, 2016
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
Los Angeles officials announced Monday that the city set a new record with 45.5 million visitors in 2015.
According to DiscoverLosAngeles.com, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board President and CEO Ernest Wooden Jr. announced that the new record of 45.5 million visitors was a 2.8 percent increase over the 2014 numbers.
This marks the fifth consecutive year of record-breaking visitation records for Los Angeles.
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Officials are reporting that new records were set for both domestic and international visitation, including 38.8 million domestic visitors (a 2.8 percent increase) and 6.7 million international visitors, a 3.3 percent increase from 2014.
Mayor Garcetti released a statement about the increased number of visitors:
"Los Angeles is a place where the world comes together for cultural experiences and celebrated attractions that cannot be found anywhere else. Our city keeps setting records in the tourism sector because we are investing billions at our airport, in mass transit, and other assets that are making L.A. more exciting and accessible than ever. The sky's the limit."
Some of the markets contributing most to LA's international growth include China's numbers climbing by 13.6 percent and South Korea's number of visitors increasing by 11 percent. Mexico is still the No. 1 international market for Los Angeles.
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The increase is great news for the city, as tourism supports more than more than 464,000 jobs and a record 28.5 million hotel room nights were sold last year. Wooden Jr. also responded to the report with a statement:
"We want to recognize and congratulate our hospitality community for their passion and dedication which has allowed us to celebrate our fifth consecutive year of record-breaking visitation. It's these individuals and businesses that make Los Angeles such a dynamic destination that 45.5 million people traveled to experience it in 2015. These figures help propel us to our goal of welcoming 50 million visitors by 2020."
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