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Record Number Of People Visited L.A. County In 2015

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A record number of people visited Los Angeles County last year.

In 2015, 45.5 million visitors came to the City of Angels, an increase of 1.3 million from the previous year, tourism officials announced Monday.

The numbers marked the fifth consecutive year of growth, according to Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.

Garcetti has set a goal of boosting tourism to Los Angeles to 50 million people per year by 2020.

He attributed the uptick to "investing billions at our airport, in mass transit and other assets that are making L.A. more exciting and accessible than ever."

Los Angeles International Airport is undergoing an $8.5 billion modernization project, while $5 billion in rail projects connecting to the airport are underway.

"Los Angeles is a place where the world comes together for cultural experiences and celebrated attractions that cannot be found anywhere else," the mayor said.

Domestic visitors, numbering 38.8 million people, grew 2.8 percent from the previous year. International visitors made up 6.7 million of the overall visitors in 2015, an increase of 3.3 percent from 2014. Mexico had the largest number of visitors -- 1.7 million.

Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who chairs the Trade, Commerce and Technology Committee, said the 2015 numbers "demonstrate and confirm" that Los Angeles is "truly a global city."

"Last year's record-setting tourism numbers send a message to the world that L.A. is open for business, and I know that the world will respond in 2016 and in the years ahead," he said.

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