welcome a note from the editor
where m ag a z ine
publisher EDITOR
Jeff Levy
Suzanne Ennis
ART DIRECTOR
Carol Wakano
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Benjamin Epstein
PRODUCTION ARTIST Diana Gonzalez Contributing designer Heidi Schwindt associate EDITOR Gillian Glover Copy EDITOR Brenda Wong
According to our friends at the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, 47.3 million people traveled to L.A. in 2016. More than 7 million of them were international visitors, including 1.8 million from Mexico and more than 1 million from China. The county attracted more visitors from the Middle East and India than ever before, too.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to welcome you to Los Angeles and thank you for visiting us. I wish you a wonderful stay and hope that you’ll come back and see us again soon.
contributing WRITERS
Teena Apeles, Roger Grody, Marina Kay, Christina Xenos contributing photographers
Dale Berman, Angela DeCenzo, Daniel Ennis, Matt Hartman, Dave Lauridsen, Lisa Romerein, Edwin Santiago SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER
Jessica Levin Poff
ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Kerry Brewer, Tim Egan, Heather Price, Julie Hoffman, Crystal Sierra business manager
Leanne Killian Riggar
circulation / SPECIAL EVENTS MANAGER
Danielle Riffenburgh
marketing/PRODUCTION MANAGER
Dawn Kiko Cheng web editor
Christina Xenos administration
Madelyn Harris, Amina Karwa, Laura Okey NATIONAL SALES
Tiffany Reinhold 714.813.6600 Director of national digital sales Bridget Cody 706.821.6663 honorary president
Ted Levy
where Los Angeles
3679 Motor Ave., Suite 300 Los Angeles, California 90034 Phone: 310.280.2880 Fax: 310.280.2890 EMAIL Editorial Suzanne.Ennis@WhereLA.com Art Art@WhereLA.com Production Ads@WhereLA.com Website Christina.Xenos@WhereLA.com Circulation Danielle.Riffenburgh@WhereLA.com Plan for your next visit to Los Angeles. Subscribe to where: single copy $4, 12 issues $36. Contact: Danielle Riffenburgh. Phone: 310.280.2880 Email: Danielle.Riffenburgh@WhereLA.com © 2017 Southern California Media Group. All rights reserved. Published by Southern California Media Group. where makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part strictly prohibited. where is a registered trademark of Morris Visitor Publications.
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Daniel Ennis
make yourself at home
All in all, it wasn’t just a record-setting year for L.A. tourism—it was a breathtaking year. Why the growing numbers? A big reason is that L.A. has more and more to offer visitors and residents alike. The new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood was a top draw, for example, and restaurants, shops, salons, arts venues and other businesses are amping up energy in neighborhoods across the city. (Read all about it in the pages that follow.) It’s a self-perpetuating cycle: Tourism is enormously important to L.A., adding $20 billion in direct visitor spending to our economy annually and supporting nearly one of every nine jobs. The more jobs and money, the more L.A. can do to attract visitors. Making it easy and appealing for people from around the world to visit us is in everyone’s best interests. But my personal motivation for promoting tourism is that I genuinely love to meet new people, learn about different cultures and introduce people to the place I call home. In fact, I’d wager that most Angelenos, not just those who work in the travel and tourism industries, share my sentiments. So, from the bottom of my heart, I want to welcome you to Los Angeles and thank you for visiting us. I wish you a wonderful stay and hope that you’ll come back and see us again soon. —Suzanne Ennis
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