Nearly four million visitors to West Hollywood spent $1.73 billion in fiscal year 2017/2018, according to a study by Destination Analysts. These findings and more were shared yesterday at the West Hollywood Travel + Tourism Board (WHTTB) Tourism Summit 2018 held at the Jeremy West Hollywood hotel.
“Our job is to raise awareness and responsibly drive demand for our 1.9 square mile city,” said Tom Kiely, WHTTB president and CEO. “Working collaboratively with our businesses and industry partners is the key to maximizing our visitor economy and having the effective tourism industry we see today.”
The $1.73 billion tourism industry in West Hollywood supports 7,958 jobs and creates $49.9 million dollars in taxes generated for the city. The city’s largest single source of revenue is the transient occupancy, or hotel room, tax, with a projected amount of $31.75 million in 2018, according to the City of West Hollywood’s budget.
The WHTTB Tourism Summit was held for over 100 industry leaders, hospitality partners, city officials and other community members in West Hollywood. Alongside unveiling economic impact, WHTTB highlighted key visitor insights and strategic marketing initiatives designed to elevate the brand of West Hollywood and attract visitors from around the world.
This year’s summit featured presentations from key industry members including Lynn Carpenter, vice president of marketing at Visit California; Don Skeoch, chief marketing officer of Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board; Erin Francis-Cummings, president & CEO of Destination Analysts, and Clayton Reid, CEO of MMGY Global. Representatives from WHTTB’s international agencies of record for travel trade and public relations also presented market insights and opportunities in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom.
The WHTTB Tourism Summit comes on the heels of a new logo and name change in May 2018, along with a new creative campaign and brand communication platform. New hotel projects and renovations to be completed by 2019 will account for a 9% growth in inventory, including 23-room No. 850, sister property to the Sunset Tower, 190-room Edition West Hollywood and the transformation of the Jeremy West Hollywood to the 1 West Hollywood.
What would be interesting to know is exactly why tourists are attached to West Hollywood; is it the night life? the fine dining? the central location? Are “tourist dollars” counted from money generated by people staying in our local hotels or simply by people coming into town for a weekend drink? Not all visitors to WeHo would count as tourists. We are becoming increasingly reliant on tourist dollars which may not be sustainable so knowing what makes it all work should be important. Are we in danger of simply being a destination rather than a community? I would also like… Read more »
Too bad tourists have to see our filthy sidewalks. Los Angeles steam cleans Hollywood Boulevard weekly, and they get a lot more foot traffic than WeHo. The City needs to replace several of the trash cans along the Sunset Strip and Santa Monica Boulevard.
I don’t believe that is true, Hollywood Blvd is filthy. West Hollywood is much cleaner (could be better) and the new parking meter rates are supposed to fund sidewalk cleaning.
Yes! When does the sidewalk power washing begin?!
Parking rates increased July 1 which means they should have started by now!
According to the city, pressure washing started Aug 1. Certain sections of SMB, Robertson, Melrose, Beverly, Sunset and La Brea are supposed to on a weekly schedule, and the rest of the main roads are on a monthly schedule. I can’t say they look any better but they’re so gross, I’m sure it’s going to take a few passes to improve?