From Oz to WeHo: Aussie Tourists Fill Local Hotels

Eighteen months after the bureau began promoting the city, Australia was sending more visitors to West Hollywood than any other overseas country —  “long before it became such an important market for the Los Angeles area in general,” Burlingame said. “Our success is directly associated with our long-time commitment there.”

Australian visitors say that travel agents sell the area as a safe, central location in LA, near Hollywood, the Sunset Strip and other recognizable movie and television locations. Agents also cast a wide net: Johnson estimates that travel from Australia is evenly split between people traveling for leisure and business, and that about 30 percent of the people traveling for leisure are gay. More than 60 percent of visiting Australians are men, with an average age of 40. Nearly half are repeat visitors.

Paez, with Out Travel, said he sends more than 60 percent of his U.S.-bound clients to WeHo, and called it a top destination, along with New York.

“There’s a lot to do: bars, restaurants, and that whole Hollywood scene as well,” he said.

Thanks to a favorable exchange rate, shopping is also a major draw. According to American Express, Australians visiting WeHo spend about $1,300 per trip, not counting lodging.

“In some cases they’re buying things cheaper over here than they could back home,” Burlingame said.

That’s certainly the case for Keith Green, from Sydney, a former L.A. resident who has returned each of the past two years for vacation and to go outlet hopping.

“When you buy a thing like Levis, they’re $140 in Australia and they’re like $30 here,” he said.

And while they’re here all year long, Paez said that Australians come in droves when the weather’s the best and days are longest.

“Our winter, your summer is definitely the most popular season,” he said.

Many of his clients round out trips with a “star tour” and a pilgrimage to Venice Beach, a people-watching Mecca.

Paez has fond memories of bar hopping on Santa Monica Boulevard — the Abbey was a highlight — and ambling around the Hollywood Hills, where he caught sight of paparazzi chasing Paris Hilton back to her home.

“That was sort of hilarious and so very Hollywood,” he said.