Tourism Sizzles in L.A. This Summer : Hotel Occupancy, LAX Traffic Rise as More Foreigners Visit

Travel during Labor Day weekend, the summer’s last hurrah, promises to put a flourish on the close of this year’s peak tourism season, which generated brisk business across much of the region but turned in a somewhat softer performance in Orange County.

More passenger traffic poured through Los Angeles International Airport this summer than a year ago, and area hotels on average enjoyed more than 75% occupancy, transportation and tourism officials said.

“The domestic economy continues to be strong,” said Michael Collins, executive vice president for the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s no surprise discretionary travel continues to climb.”

Millions of Southern Californians are expected to hit the road, the rails and the skies during the three-day weekend, joining an estimated 34.8 million Americans--more than 80% motorists--looking to squeeze in one last trip before fall, the Automobile Club of Southern California said. This year’s total represents a 2% increase over last year’s.

“It should be one of the busiest weekends of the year for travelers out there,” Auto Club spokesman Jeff Spring said.

Motorists, it seems, will be paying more to travel this year, however. The Auto Club estimates that California gas prices have climbed 33 cents a gallon over last year’s figures to hit an average of $1.54 a gallon for self-serve regular unleaded. Nationwide, the estimate is $1.25 a gallon, a year-over-year increase of 18 cents.

But many have decided to leave their cars and their RVs home, and local air travel during the weekend is also expected to be heavy. UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, the busiest carrier at Los Angeles International Airport, was expecting to accommodate about 50,000 passengers Friday, a 9% increase over a typical Friday, United spokesman Joe Hopkins said.

This weekend will cap what has been a bustling summer for LAX. Figures for June, the most recent available, showed a 3% rise in passenger traffic over last year. Airport spokesman Tom Winfrey said LAX is expecting to post similar increases for July and August. In June, the airport handled about 5.6 million passengers, with foreign travelers posting a 7% increase in their numbers over a year ago.

Bruce Baltin, a senior vice president with Los Angeles-based PKF Consulting, which tracks the local hospitality industry, said foreign travel to the region had been hurt last year by economic turmoil abroad, particularly in Asia. This year, things appear to be brighter.

“We’re seeing over the last three to four months the international market is starting to come back,” Baltin said. The trend is good news for local businesses that rely on tourism because foreign travelers on average spend more than their domestic counterparts.

This summer was particularly good, Baltin said, for hotels in Los Angeles County, which averaged an estimated 78% occupancy and charged higher rates than a year ago. June saw an increase of 2 percentage points in county hotel occupancy, Baltin said, while preliminary figures indicate July posted a jump of 5 points.

“We ran closer to 90% occupancy versus 88% last year,” said Bill Tremper, hotel marketing director at Doubletree Guest Suites in Santa Monica. Summertime revenue was also healthier, with Tremper reporting a 12% spike over a year ago.

“We probably had the best August we’ve had in eight years,” said Heather Kales, a spokeswoman for Century Plaza Hotel & Tower. She attributed the hotel’s windfall to a jump in in-house conventions and increased food and beverage sales. July was equally strong, she said.

Meanwhile, hotel occupancy in Orange County during June, July and August was 76%, barely up from 75% in 1998. Tourism in Orange County has been hurt in the last several months by construction in Anaheim, where many convention and leisure travelers have postponed visits until billions of dollars in new theme park, convention center and infrastructure projects are completed next year.

The slowdown appears to have hurt the county’s premier business, Disneyland. Although the theme park does not release attendance figures, a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing by parent company Walt Disney Co. indicated that its double-digit growth was “partially offset by lower attendance at Disneyland.”

Park employees concur that attendance has slipped this summer compared with last year, when the park opened its remodeled Tomorrowland section.

“It may be worse for the company, but it’s nice for us,” said one worker who fields customer complaints. Sparse crowds at the park have made for happier visitors, the employee said. “It’s been a mellow place to work this summer.”

Farther north, however, Seagram Co.’s Universal Studios and Premier Parks Inc.’s Six Flags Magic Mountain both reported larger crowds this summer over last.

But although more people opted to ride roller coasters, fewer decided to ride the waves at the beach.

Danny Douglas, a lifeguard at Santa Monica Beach, said lower temperatures and overcast skies kept many away from the shore.

“We didn’t have quite the crowds we had last year,” he said.

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Foreign Aid

A rise in foreign visitors - who on average spend more money that domestic travelers - has helped make it a good summer for tourism in Los Angeles County. In 1998, foreign tourists represented 33% of the spending, even though they made up only 23% of the total tourist visits.

Tourist visits in 1998

Foreign tourists: 5.3 million

Domestic tourists: 1.8 million

Tourist spending in 1998

Foreign tourist spending: $3.9 billion

Domestic tourist spending: $7.9 billion

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Source: Los Angeles Times and Visitors Bureau