Travelers who flew into Los Angeles last weekend were met with an apocalyptic scene: the glow of red-orange flames against a backdrop of rising smoke and an expanse of twinkling city lights.
The stark panoramas and shocking, ubiquitous videos of wildfires are reminiscent of the sunny beaches and glamorous Hollywood that Los Angeles relies on to draw in the hordes of tourists that pump billions into the local economy each year. It was in stark contrast to the image.
As firefighters begin to extinguish the blaze that has devastated parts of the Pacific Palisades, Malibu and the hillside town of Altadena, tourism officials are wondering what short-term implications the disaster will have on Los Angeles’ strength. and looking for signs of potential long-term damage. tourist spot.
“We are very nervous,” said Jackie Fira, President and CEO of Hotel Assen. of Los Angeles.
“What you see in the red is that there’s obviously been a drastic drop in short-term bookings that were supposed to be here this week and next week. We’re also seeing a longer-term drop, but not as much, but certainly something we’re concerned about. This is the trend.”
In some ways, the fire occurred just as Los Angeles’ tourism industry had finally fully recovered from the devastation caused by COVID-19. In 2023, the last full year for which statistics are available, Los Angeles’ total tourism receipts totaled $40.4 billion, a record. Of those, 49.1 million people visited, down 3% from the pre-pandemic high in 2019.
Fila noted that no Los Angeles County hotels or major tourist destinations were damaged in the fire, and major conferences and conventions, a key component of the tourism industry, are expected to go ahead as scheduled. The lineup also includes the Association of Thoracic Surgeons, whose leaders resolved Wednesday night to hold their annual meeting later this month in downtown Los Angeles and donate $100,000 to relief efforts.
And the other big event, the Grammy Awards, is still scheduled for Feb. 2 at the Crypto.com Arena downtown.
Organizers and attendees of these conferences and awards ceremonies typically book rooms without hesitation. But the equation is becoming more complicated as the fires have displaced tens of thousands of people. “We are monitoring competitions and conferences very closely,” Fila said. “Everyone is concerned about not taking rooms away from evacuees, and we have the ability to do both.”
Los Angeles hotel occupancy rates, typically at their lowest in January, rose from 59.3% to 65% “due to fire evacuation demands” as the Palisades and Eaton fires raged in the week ending Jan. 11. said a lodging industry analyst. A co-star has been found. The biggest jump occurred in the first three days after the fires started, with average daily room rates at luxury hotels in the region rising 22.7% from last year. The increase may be due to evacuees moving into expensive suites during a time when major fires are typically occurring. “Time is slow,” said Isaac Collazo, the company’s senior director of analytics.
There are approximately 44,000 hotel rooms in the City of Los Angeles. Approximately 100,000 people live in the county. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna announced Thursday that about 88,000 people are under evacuation orders.
Whether the region’s recovery is in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Napa Valley’s recovery after the devastating wildfires in 2017, or Maui’s continued recovery efforts since the devastating wildfires in 2023. Whether it will be similar remains to be seen.
In the aftermath of Katrina, travel to New Orleans dropped to less than half of what it was before, but has gradually recovered. It wasn’t until 2016 that visitor numbers to the city returned to pre-Katrina levels.
In contrast, Napa and Sonoma counties bounced back relatively quickly after fall 2017 fires that blackened more than 110,000 acres and killed 24 people. The fires spared most vineyards and tourism infrastructure, and by early 2018 hotel occupancy and revenue were higher than the previous year. , according to local tourism organization Visit Napa Valley. Local and state officials said aggressive marketing, including spending by Visit California, the state’s main marketing organization, helped the recovery.
Maui continues to rebuild after an August 2023 fire claimed 102 lives and destroyed much of Lahaina Town, a major tourist destination. Tourist numbers in November 2024 will remain about 15% below 2022 levels. After mixed messages initially, with some urging people to stay away as communities try to rebuild, authorities are now working hard to lure tourists back.
“We want travelers to know that their visit will not harm local communities,” Caroline Betata, president and CEO of Visit California, the state’s leading tourism organization, said in a statement. “We need them to understand that we can help and that hotels and businesses in the city are ready to welcome them.” they. “
Betta acknowledged that “we’re already hearing from restaurants and hotels who have been affected,” and said his team is working on a recovery campaign. “I encourage everyone, especially California residents, to travel to Los Angeles. “We should consider planning for this,” he said. Support economic recovery. ”
“It’s too early to really understand what the impact will be,” said Adam Burke, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, also known as Discover Los Angeles. , until then, “We are our platform to support those directly affected.”
Over the long term, Burke said the company will scrutinize data such as web searches for Los Angeles as a destination, international bookings, airport arrivals and hotel occupancy. He noted that in a typical year, hotel tax revenue adds more than $300 million to the city’s general fund, money that could help with fuel recovery efforts.
Despite the devastation in the fire area, most of the region’s most famous tourist attractions remained undamaged. Many parks and museums have been closed due to air quality and other concerns, but several reopened Thursday, including Griffith Park, the Los Angeles Zoo and the Autry Museum of the American West.
Rafael Govan-Coulomb, an assistant professor of economics at Middlebury College, said natural disasters typically reduce overall consumer demand because fewer outside visitors to the area reduce leisure, hospitality, He said this was because it would lead to a decline in entertainment spending. – Author of a study last year that examined satellite data to understand fire activity in counties across the U.S. and its impact on the labor market
Leisure and hospitality is a particularly important sector for Los Angeles County, accounting for about 13.5% of the workforce, well above the countywide median of about 6%, Govan-Coulomb said. But she noted that destinations with more diverse economies, like Los Angeles, tend to be more resilient than destinations that rely heavily on one sector.
Disasters also tend to cause the industry to experience fire-related displacement, which could force the industry to contend with a shrinking local workforce, he said. He added that the slowdown in employment growth could continue for three years after the fire.
“People consider everything when they travel,” says Ray Patel, president of the Northeast Los Angeles Hotel Owners Association. “It’s all about guest perception. They might say, ‘Oh, there’s too many fires.’ ”
It’s an understandable impulse, he says. “We all want to put our heads down at night and make sure we’re safe.”
As Los Angeles seeks to stabilize its tourism industry in the wake of the fires, it can rely on an important asset that many cities don’t have: The city’s tourism office has staff in seven offices overseas. and works with tourism boards in Australia, the UK and Australia. India and China.
At a time when dramatic television footage threatens to obscure Los Angeles’ geographic facts, Burke said, “We’re already working with the travel industry in real time,” adding, “We’re trying to figure out why it’s important to travel responsibly. The aim is to educate people around the world about whether it is still safe. To Los Angeles. ”
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