tourism

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NOLA L. SARKISIAN

Staff Reporter

As Asia shows signs of recovery from its severe economic flu, there are signs of another bug the traveling kind.

The number of visitors to L.A. from the three top Asian markets Japan, Taiwan and Korea is likely to start climbing again this year, according to the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau.

But expect a slow climb. The bureau projects a 3 percent increase in the number of Japanese travelers to L.A. after dropping 9 percent in 1998 and Korean tourism is likely to increase by 10 percent following a 59 percent drop last year.

“Overall indicators seem to be promising, but we’re not bullish,” said Michael Collins, executive vice president of the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau. “After a punishing decline, it looks like Asia in general is up, but it doesn’t mean we’re out of the barrel. We’re expecting to see a rise in spending, but it’s hard to say how much that will be at this time.”

Industry consultants also express cautious optimism. “We believe that we’ve bottomed out, so there’s only one way to go,” said Michael Mahoney, director of hospitality and leisure consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. “It’s just hard to say how long that will take.”

Some L.A.-area hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions are noticing an improvement.

“In February alone, we had 5,000 Japanese visitors, which is more than we’ve had in a year,” said Jay Aldrich, spokesman for the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Griffith Park. “Every month we’re seeing three to four groups some as big as 2,500. And this summer we have 15 to 20 groups visiting, which is more than double last year.”

Japanese tour groups are responsible for boosting the Regent Beverly Wilshire’s year-to-date occupancy by 10 percent this year, said marketing manager Bill Doak. The improvement comes after aggressive overseas marketing.

“Our partnership with the wholesale (tour-booking) market is paying off,” Doak said. “Although the wholesale market is usually marked down, we’re still getting $300 per night, which is a high room rate.”

At Lawry’s the Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, “Our business has held steady in the downturn, and we often have to turn away tour operators,” said Colleen Donatucci, marketing manager. “Our product is still a bargain to the Japanese market. They often have to pay $300 a plate for what they get here (for $20 to $30).”

Not all local businesses have done quite as well.

“We’ve projected an 18 percent falloff in Asian travelers this year, and the actual falloff has been more than double that,” said John Stoddard, managing director of downtown’s Wilshire Grand Hotel & Centre. “Although our Korean market is doing quite nicely, our Japanese travelers are not doing much travel, and I don’t expect the numbers to come back for at least two years.”

Joe Martinez, manager of sales and operations for Nada Bus tours, which caters to Japanese tourists, says, “We’re seeing a 7 percent slide in business and I don’t know how the next few months will pan out. We’re clearly seeing more individual travelers coming in who are booking smaller tours, so hopefully that will sustain us. And many of our sales calls to (large-group) clients have been encouraging. But they usually book only two to four weeks out, so it’s hard to gauge what business will be like.”

To entice Asian tourists, some local hotels are providing discounts and incentives. Last week, Seoul Palace Hotel in Koreatown, which is averaging a 90 percent occupancy level compared with 55 percent a year ago, was sold out. Front desk manager Heajim Kim attributed the high occupancy to heavy discounting sometimes as much as 40 percent.

Louis Vuitton on Rodeo Drive also has grown its business with aggressive marketing. It began accepting Japanese yen last year and many of its sales representatives speak Japanese.

“We’ve had to be competitive to draw the crowds here and things are paying off,” said General Manager Ron Michaels. “In the last week we’ve been inundated with Japanese tourists. So far this year, our business is up 15 percent ahead of last year and the rest of the year looks on par to that.”

At least some of that increased spending may be emanating from rising spirits among Asian consumers.

“People feel confident now,” said Simon Lee, a pharmaceutical marketing manager from Hong Kong, eating wonton soup at Farmer’s Market last week. “In Hong Kong, we’ve seen our hotel occupancies climb to 90 percent from 50 percent last year. More people are traveling within Asia now, so they’re (also) more likely to travel abroad.”

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