We were fortunate enough to be able to discuss some of the key challenges facing Los Angeles with Ernest Wooden Jr, President & CEO at Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Bureau, and our closing keynote. LA is now planning for the Olympics in 2028, and Ernest will be joining us to explore how they are developing a strategic plan to engage citizens, develop infrastructure to support sustainable development in tourism and its economy and secure collaboration between the key stakeholders to build a unified vision for the future of LA.

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CNP: What do you believe are the emerging opportunities?

EWJ: We at Los Angeles Tourism have worked strategically to (successfully) expand our international focus and invest significant marketing resources in new, emerging markets such as South Korea, India and Scandinavia.

We have kept our eye on Scandinavia for quite some time now seeing steady increase in visitation from the region since 2010. In fact, visitation from the market has now doubled since 2008 along with a surge in direct airlift. All indications are, with the region’s strong economies and long, cold winters, Los Angeles is positioned to be a premier holiday destination for Scandinavian travelers. This market is especially of interest to us as they tend to travel during our slower shoulder seasons.

South Korea continues to be an important emerging market for Los Angeles as it now represents our fifth largest overseas market with continued growth in recent years. We’ve undertaken several marketing initiatives to boost visitation from S. Korea including working with the star actor Daniel Henney on a new advertising campaign as well as collaborating with the YouTube creator, Korean Englishman.

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