LOS ANGELES How To Sell
BY ALAN ORBELL Los Angeles is among those few destinations that’s on almost everyone’s wish list – unsurprisingly given it’s the place from which so much of the world’s film and music entertainment emanates. Throw in the Californian sunshine,
great dining and shopping, nearby beaches and theme parks and it’s no surprise that economic woes or not, last year saw 9.7% more Brits visit Los Angeles than the year before. Los Angeles has been working hard in
recent years to re-invigorate its downtown area with the Walt Disney Concert Hall one of the notable developments. Part of the Performing Arts Center’s collection of theatres and concert halls, it is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Another must on any LA tour must be
the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) – 100 years old in 2013 – with its 35 million objects, some as old as 4.5 billion years. The landmark Dinosaur Hall opened in 2011. Easily accessible on the red metro line
is Universal Studios Hollywood, as well as Hollywood itself where the area’s icons like the Walk of Fame with more than 2,400 stars’ names engraved on Hollywood Boulevard, the Chinese, Kodak and Egyptian Theatres, the 50ft letters of the Hollywood sign, the La Brea Tar Pits fossil site and Farmer’s Market can all be seen. Even if it’s just to look, a stroll down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills to window- shop in some of the world’s most expensive retail outlets is a must. A good way to see the major LA sites
is to take a Starline Tour which offers a wide range of sightseeing tours from a Movie Stars’ Homes Tour through the Hollywood Double Decker Fun Bus to a five and a half hour Grand City Tour of L.A. (
www.starlinetours.com). A great base from which to visit Los Angeles, is Santa Monica. It’s just 13km from Los Angeles International Airport and, until the metro arrives, easily linked with downtown LA by bus. It’s a real beach resort with 37 hotels including the new Shore boutique property which opened just six months ago with impeccable environmental credentials. Santa Monica boasts the historic wooden Santa Monica Pier with
the Pacific Ferris Wheel and the Annenberg Beach House, the country’s only public beach club. There’s good shopping and lots of restaurants.
What’s New Universal Studios Hollywood is on everyone’s LA itinerary and the city’s newest attraction was unveiled there in May. Transformers™: The Ride 3D, an ‘immersive, next generation thrill ride that blurs the line between fiction and reality’ (See page 57). Due to open this summer in
downtown LA is Grand Park, a 12-acre urban oasis stretching from Grand Avenue at the Music Center to Spring Street at City Hall. A new public museum of contemporary art – The Broad – will open in 2013, on Grand Avenue, a 120,000 square-foot, three-level facility with 50,000 square feet of gallery space on two floors. The Broad is the latest addition to the world-class cultural centre that includes the Music Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art. The California Science Center will
also be home to the Space Shuttle Endeavour from the autumn and from May to December 2012, the Center is hosting the only West Coast appearance of Cleopatra: The Exhibition (see page 57). The new LAIR (Living Amphibians, Invertebrates, and Reptiles) facility at
the Los Angeles Zoo opened in the spring of 2012 offering new homes to the Zoo’s reptile collection, one of the rarest among North American zoos. With families in mind, a visit to Long
Beach to enjoy the colourful sea life at the Aquarium of the Pacific is well worthwhile. Los Angeles has an extensive metro system and has recently added the Metro Expo Line, with 12 new stations. Phase 1 of the line opened in the spring between Downtown LA and Culver City. Phase 2 will extend the line out to Santa Monica. A new deluxe seven-day Visitor’s Pass
not only offers unlimited seven-day travel on the city’s bus and rail system but also gives unlimited travel on Metrolink trains throughout Southern California on the Saturday and Sunday of the pass’s validity. This add-on can take your clients to Disneyland or the beach in San Clemente or Oceanside. The basic pass costs just $20 while the deluxe costs $30. On the hotel front, the Kyoto Grand
Hotel and Gardens will become the Doubletree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown by this summer 2012 and the former Hollywood Heights Hotel has become the 16-room Hilton Garden Inn. And in Beverly Hills, the Beverly
Hills Hotel has been named the first Historic Landmark for the city of Beverly Hills in its 100th year.
Tourism Talk HANNAH AVOL
Sales Manager, Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau
“If your clients are looking for the palm trees, beaches and tanned bodies seen on TV and movies depicting California, or for fresh air and relaxation after a long haul flight, both can be found immediately after landing in the beachfront city of Santa Monica, just 20 minutes North of Los Angeles International Airport. “Staying in Santa Monica puts your clients within an hour’s drive to Disneyland, Universal Studios, Beverly Hills and Hollywood, but the best part is that they can walk outside of their Santa Monica hotel to beaches, sunsets, street performers, award-winning dining, laidback pubs and brand name shopping”
Where To Book It FUNWAY HOLIDAYS – 08445 570 626
www.funway4agents.co.uk Flying United Airlines from Heathrow on November 6 2012 to Los Angeles with four nights staying at the 3.5* Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn Universal Studios and then three nights staying at the Sheraton Delfina Santa Monica Hotel is from £1095 pp.
Clockwise from left: the towering Los Angeles skyline; since 1923, one of the world's most famous signs; Santa Monica's ferris wheel
www.sellinglonghaul.com • July/August 2012 55
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