Los Angeles to hold IPW 2024

Los Angeles has been designated as the host city for U.S. Travel's IPW 2024, according to an announcement released by the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LATCB) at IPW 2015 held in Orlando, Florida, United States in May.

IPW is a premier international industry event and also a large generator of inbound travel for the United States. It was hosted in Los Angeles in 2012 and will return to the city in 2024.

Ernest Wooden Jr., president and CEO of LATCB, the official tourism marketing organization of Los Angeles, said, "Los Angeles is a dynamic metropolitan hub with large numbers of new museums, hotels, and world-class tourist attractions. We are ready to welcome the upcoming IPW 2024." He added, "We value the Chinese market. The IPW held in Los Angeles will strengthen the communication and cooperation among participating delegates."

LATCB announced that Los Angeles has developed many city regeneration programs, including new hotel developments, public transit system expansion, as well as the modernization of Los Angeles International Airport.

Hotel developments

Los Angeles will have a total of 39 new hotels, with 17 hotels still under construction and 22 in their final planning stages. More than 7,900 new hotel rooms to be created will provide high-quality customer services to tourists visiting Los Angeles.

Two standout projects are InterContinental's Wilshire Grand Center and the expansion of the J.W. Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE. The 73-story Wilshire Grand Center will feature 900 rooms, 400,000 square feet (121,333 square meters) of office building space, shops and restaurants. It will open in 2017.

J.W. Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE will expand to have 755 more rooms, a move that will make it California's second largest hotel when it opens.

Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has invested multi-billion dollars in more than 20 regeneration projects, which are expected to be completed in 2019.

The LAX will guarantee passengers a safer and more convenient travel by building new taxi lanes, in-line baggage handling and screening systems.

The major U.S. airlines at LAX have also invested more than 1.5 billion dollars to renovate their terminals.

Public transportation

A number of projects are currently underway that will expand L.A.'s public transportation network, making it easier for visitors to have car-free travel in Los Angeles.

In 2016, Metro's Expo Line in Los Angeles will extend its light rail service to Santa Monica. It will take only 46 minutes for passengers to go from downtown LA to Santa Monica.

Metro's Purple Line will continue its expansion project to provide more convenient travel experience to those traveling to and from destinations such as Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood.

Attractions, culture and shopping

Los Angeles will develop more tourist attractions, providing tourists with more convenient travel experience.

The Universal Studios Hollywood, a film studio and theme park of Los Angeles, will introduce new thrill rides and theme parks. It will also open amusement projects such as "Springfield" and "The Simpsons Ride", which are based on America's favorite animated family.

The upcoming "Fast & Furious-Supercharged" thrill ride and the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" to be opened in 2016 will also be under the spotlight in Universal Studios Hollywood.

The Broad Museum in Los Angeles was built by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, and it will be opened on Sept 20, 2015. The museum will collect nearly 2,000 works of postwar and contemporary art from the Broad Art Foundation and Broad's personal collections.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is building the world's leading movie museum in the heart of Los Angeles. It is expected to open in 2017. The six-storey museum will contain state-of-the-art galleries, exhibition spaces, movie theaters, and educational areas.

The Petersen Automotive Museum, expected to be one of the world's most advanced automotive museums after its transformation, will reopen in December. The museum, with 22 new galleries, will display vehicles by using cutting-edge interactive technology.

In addition, LATCB, along with Brand USA, China National Tourism Administration and Visit California, will co-sponsor the ninth annual U.S.-China Tourism Leadership Summit 2015 from Sept 8 to 11. About 250 leaders in tourism industry will discuss how to market tourism for Los Angeles.

LATCB is a private, non-profit business association whose primary mission is to market and promote the city as the premier site for leisure travel, meetings and conventions.