Travel Pulse
Hello 2008
The pies have been eaten, the presents have been opened, and the college pigskin has been laid to rest. As 2008 is upon us, we wanted to share with you what this New Year will bring to LA’s tourism industry. While we can’t cover everything, here are a few highlights: Later this month and in early February, dineLA's two Restaurant Weeks will feature over 125 local restaurants offering their fare to locals and visitors alike in the first event of its kind in Los Angeles (dineLA.com). Also in February, the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA will open. The first new museum to open in Los Angeles since the Getty Center in 1997, the Broad Contemporary was designed in collaboration with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, and will provide 60,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space. In another February event, the Huntington Library will debut the 12-acre, $18 million, Chinese “Garden of Flowing Fragrance”, which will be the largest classical Chinese garden outside of China. In May, The Simpsons Ride will open at Universal Studios Hollywood. The ride will feature all of the most popular characters from the TV show, with voicing by the original actors. Also in May at the Huntington Library grounds, the Huntington Mansion will reopen. The first floor will be a recreation of the historic home occupied by the Huntington family, and the second floor will serve as a state-of-the-art gallery for the library’s world famous British portrait collection, including Blue Boy and Pinkie. The Mark Taper Forum is scheduled to reopen in July, and, in September, the Music Center will be home to the world premiere of the new Broadway-bound musical 9 to 5. The show is based on the hit movie of the same name and will star Allison Janney of The West Wing fame. On the other end of Downtown, the Grammy Museum will open at the LA LIVE entertainment complex in October. The 30,000 sq. ft. museum will celebrate the colorful history of the music recording industry, including 50 years of the Grammy Awards. To learn more about what’s going on in LA in 2008, please visit LA INC.’s rechristened website, discoverlosangeles.com.
Tourism Industry Statistics:
Countywide Hotel Occupancy
Average Daily Room Rate (ADR)
Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR)
Airports Passenger Traffic
U.S. Travel Price Index
U.S. Consumer Confidence
Countywide Hotel Occupancy
November’s occupancy measured 70.6%, a decrease of -2.5% from last November’s mark of 72.5%. The average occupancy for both the top 25 markets and all US hotels also showed negative growth of -1.1% and -1.0% respectively. The year-to-date occupancy for the county was 76.4%, unchanged from that of previous year.
Average Daily Room Rate (ADR)
In November, county ADR climbed by 5.8% over 2006 to reach $122.83. Year to date, ADR for Los Angeles hotels measures $122.87, up 7.3% from last year’s ADR of $114.53. The year-to-date change in room rate in the top 25 markets is +7.2% and rates for all US hotels are up 5.9%.
Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR)
LA County RevPAR finished the month at $86.76, an increase of 3.1% over last year. LA County’s year to date RevPAR totals $93.82, a 7.2% increase over last year’s mark of $87.55. The year-to-date change in RevPAR in the top 25 markets is + 7.3% and RevPAR for all US hotels is +5.9%.
Airports Passenger Traffic
4.8 million passengers passed through the gates of LAX in November, an increase of 1.0% vs. last year. The domestic traffic at LAX was slightly down by -1.3%, while international traffic was up 8.0%. YTD, domestic traffic is up 1.6%, and international traffic is up 1.1%; total YTD traffic is up 1.5%. Passenger traffic at LA Ontario International increased year over year by 1.7% in November. As is usual for this year, the increase was due to the increase in domestic traffic, which was up by 2.3%.
U.S. Travel Price Index
The TPI measured 8.8 percent higher in November than it did during the same month in 2006. Year-to-date the TPI is up 4.1% over 2006. Motor fuel prices were up +37% in November, with airline fares slightly up by 8.9% compared to same month last year. Food & beverages prices were up by 4.1% in November compared to last year, and lodging prices were up 4.6%. The year-to-date changes (%) for four major tourism sectors are shown in the graph at the right.
U.S. Consumer Confidence
Consumer Confidence Index, which had been declining since the summer, posted a slight increase in December. The Index now stands at 88.6 (1985=100), up from 87.8 in November. According to Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board, ”this month's slight gain in Confidence was due solely to an increase in the Expectations Index. Consumers' short-term outlook regarding business conditions, employment, and inflation and stock prices improved marginally. However, while consumers are less negative about the near-term future, they remain far from optimistic. Furthermore, persistent declines in the Present Situation Index indicate the economy is still losing momentum. In fact, in assessing the current job market, pessimists now outnumber optimists. Regarding business conditions, the gap between the two is almost nonexistent."
Travel Pulse is a publication of LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. Data for Travel Pulse was obtained from Smith Travel Research, Los Angeles World Airports, CIC Research, The Conference Board, TIA and the U.S. Department of Labor. Unless otherwise noted, all data pertain to Los Angeles County. For additional information regarding travel and tourism in Los Angeles, contact LA INC.’s Research Department at research@lainc.us.
