Ahead of hosting the IPW trade show over the next few days, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board released data showing that a total of 49.1 million people visited the city in 2023, which was only 3% down on 2019 levels thanks to the full recovery of the domestic market.

Figures show there were 310,000 visitors from the UK and Ireland to Los Angeles last year, up by 24% on arrivals of 250,000 in 2022. This makes the UK and Ireland the Californian city’s fourth largest international market behind only Mexico, Canada and China.

Arrivals from the UK and Ireland, though, are still 18% below 2019 levels when there were 380,000 visitors to LA. LA Tourism is hoping to continue its momentum though the global Now Playing advertising campaign, which is targeting visitors from key markets including the UK.

The city’s profile will also be raised through IPW, which LA is hosting for the first time in 12 years. The trade event takes place from 3-7 May at the Los Angeles Convention Center with events being held at venues such as Getty Center, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Universal Studios Hollywood.