Hahn Hitches L.A.’s Wagon to Two Stars

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn used star power here Friday in an effort to lure Japanese tourists back to Southern California and reverse a decline that has cost the city millions of dollars since Sept. 11, 2001.

With Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dodger pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii at his side, Hahn unveiled a publicity and promotional campaign aimed at increasing travel from Japan by 3% in the coming year. If that happened, about $12 million would be added to the city’s economy, city officials said.

As part of that campaign, the city is offering up to 30 Japanese residents the chance to win a free trip to Los Angeles in a campaign dubbed “See My L.A.” It is a Web-based promotion (www.lax.or.jp) designed to attract interest from tour operators and Japanese residents.

But the real draw Friday may have been Ishii. Speaking in Japanese, the shy, charismatic pitcher told the crowd that L.A. “is a wonderful and beautiful and delightful place to be. If you are in Los Angeles, you are in the No. 1 city in the United States.”

About 70 members of the Japanese media descended on the normally sedate Imperial Hotel, cameras clicking as Ishii and Schwarzenegger played right to them.

The film star, recalling his many visits to Tokyo in the last 30 years, said: “I have to admit it to you, today I am here for the most important reason: the promotion of my favorite city in the world, Los Angeles. I mean, it is absolutely mind-blowing how rich an experience it is to come to Los Angeles.”

Before the news conference, L.A. officials showed a splashy video about the city that included a stretch limousine by the beach, girls in bathing suits, USC cheerleaders and the Lakers.

Hahn sought to assuage tourists’ fears about visiting America. “As a traveler myself, I feel more secure today than I did a year ago,” he said.

Entertainment industry officials in Los Angeles said Schwarzenegger has become a bigger star in Japan than at home, with his most recent movies making more money here than in the U.S. His latest film, the third in his Terminator series, is expected to be a huge hit in Japan.

For Schwarzenegger, then, the trip is valuable for several purposes: It gives him an opportunity to do a good turn for Los Angeles, to promote his new film and to make an international appearance at a time when some are speculating that he will run for governor of California in 2006.

Although Schwarzenegger is a Republican and Hahn a Democrat, political considerations took a back seat Thursday to tourism. Hahn flew from Beijing to Tokyo for the news conference to accommodate Schwarzenegger’s schedule, and the mayor will return to China today for meetings in Shanghai.

Hahn even turned down a chance to meet with Jiang Zemin, China’s recently retired chief of the Communist Party, so he could make the quick trip to Tokyo. (The meeting with Jiang had been set for earlier in the week, but Chinese officials had to change it and they wanted to reschedule it for Friday.)

This is the mayor’s sixth day of a 10-day Asia trip designed to boost tourism, encourage trade and open business opportunities for Los Angeles companies. He is traveling with City Council President Alex Padilla and council members Eric Garcetti and Janice Hahn -- the mayor’s sister -- as well as a delegation of business executives and other city officials. The mayor has already been to Seoul and Beijing.

He spent a busy day in Tokyo, meeting with the heads of two major Japanese airlines and then attending a meeting with Japan’s leading business organization, Nippon Keidanren, and part of the mayor’s delegation to discuss possible relationships between Los Angeles and other parts of the Pacific Rim. The mayor was to dine with Schwarzenegger, along with Japanese tour operators and airlines.

Los Angeles has a particularly important stake in Japanese tourism. The city is the second-most popular destination, after Hawaii, for Japanese visitors to the U.S. More people visit Los Angeles from Japan than from anywhere else overseas.

But those tourists’ numbers have dropped since 2000.

The tourism slump represents a serious weakness in L.A.’s economy, according to the mayor and other city officials.

Miguel Contreras of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, who is also on the Asia trip, said the city cannot support jobs in hotels and other industries without boosting tourism.

A recent report commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Mayors showed that the sluggish economy, coupled with fears of terrorism, has cost Los Angeles nearly $2 billion in spending by international visitors and 34,000 tourism-related jobs over two years.