LA launches Chinese website to lure tourists

The Tourism and Convention Board of Los Angeles launched a Chinese-language website in China recently, in an effort to attract more tourists from the country to the largest city on the west coast of the United States.

Rather than a Chinese translation of its English-language website, the Chinese-language site, called helloLA.cn, is specially designed to target the Chinese market, with detailed online guidance that covers all aspects of an LA trip. It also features an interactive section, where tourists can share their experiences and get expert advice and answers to questions about LA visits.

Chang Hong, regional director of the LA Tourism and Convention Board in Beijing, said China is the biggest and most important tourist market for Los Angeles.

"In 2013, a record 570,000 Chinese tourists chose LA as their entry city for their visits to America, a 21 percent increase from 2012. China has became the top tourist source market for LA," Chang said.

To boost the soaring growth of Chinese tourists, the LA Tourism and Convention Board created a "shop LA" campaign on the website, which looks to tap into the huge buying power of the Chinese tourists. The best of LA's shopping centers are highlighted and showcased, with 40,000 featured in shopping guides that can be downloaded from the website.

The website is part of the LA Tourism and Convention Board's China-specific marketing plan "Hello, China", which features a "China-ready" certification project that evaluates tourist services in LA and trains Chinese-speaking tourist guides and local agencies. Organizations and service personnel that pass an evaluation and training process will be recommended on the website in the near future, Chang said.