Conventional, Creative Boosts

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You may have seen the report recently that said Los Angeles had 26.9 million overnight visitors last year, an all-time high.

That was an increase of 4.2 percent from the previous year, according to LA Inc., the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. More international tourists (7 percent) as well as Americans (2 percent) came here. Why? Well, the economy’s improving, sure, but LA Inc. pointed out that more people chose to come here partly because of L.A.’s improved portfolio of attractions. Among them: a spiffed-up Hollywood, including the Cirque du Soleil show; new rides at Universal Studios Hollywood; and the Natural History Museum’s Dinosaur Hall.

(One contributor to the increase could be the greater marketing of Los Angeles as a result of the sudden proliferation of what’s called tourism business improvement districts. For more, see the story on page 7 and the List on page 23.)

Tourists are nice, but business travelers are better (they spend more) and conventioneers are best (they spend more than tourists and stay longer than business travelers). And it’s in the convention area where Los Angeles lags; this city shows up somewhere in the teens in national rankings of biggest convention cities.

It shouldn’t be that way. L.A.’s fine weather in the fall and spring, when most conventions are held, makes it a natural convention city. This area’s biggest convention center, the one downtown, is in a far more alluring neighborhood since L.A. Live got built. And that improved portfolio of attractions makes Los Angeles a more interesting destination.

Now, if Anschutz Entertainment Group gets its way, the Convention Center will be reoriented into a more functional space. At least, that’s the theory. And if a National Football League stadium gets built between L.A. Live and the Convention Center, more hotels surely will follow. That will help create a virtuous cycle of more conventions, leading to more hotel rooms, leading to more conventions, leading to more business.

I’ve opined about this in the past, so I’m sorry to repeat. But it’s important enough to warrant repeating: The City Council has an interesting and rare opportunity in front of it. AEG’s proposal appears to offer the city a low-cost way to elevate its standing as a convention city. Of course, the City Council members should make sure the taxpayers are getting a sound deal. But they should not fumble away this opportunity.

Maybe, just maybe, in a half-dozen years or so, we will look back on that record number of visitors – 26.9 million – and scoff at how paltry that figure seems.

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Speaking of the future, a company that isn’t even in Los Angeles is suddenly creating business here.

The company is YouTube of the Bay Area, which a few months ago said it would spend money for original content for its website. That set off a scramble among content providers. And when it comes to the marriage of content (or entertainment) with technology, well, Los Angeles is the place to be.

“It’s interesting to see how YouTube celebrities are all gravitating to L.A.,” said Amanda Taylor, who moved her small company here to produce a show for YouTube. “What’s going on in content creation is here.”

Taylor’s tale is outlined in the article on page 1 of this issue. The article says that since YouTube said it wanted to buy original content, at least seven local companies signed up.

And they’re probably only the first of many.

Charles Crumpley is editor of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].

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