The travel agent’s role has never been so important

Large fires and army deployment against demonstrators: Los Angeles has been in the negative headlines twice in the past six months. How the head of tourism Adam Burke is dealing with this — and what other news LA has to announce.

fvw|TravelTalk: First the major fires, then the protests. How are you dealing with these negative headlines?
Adam Burke: The biggest challenge for us so far this year has been the distorted perception of these events due to media coverage. The fires were undoubtedly a disaster for the neighbourhoods in Palisades, Altadena, and parts of Malibu. I am therefore very grateful for all the support we’ve received.

Our challenge was that the farther you travelled from Los Angeles, the more people believed, just by following the media reports, that the city had burned down completely. According to a Visit California survey, one month after the fires, Americans believed an average of 41% of the region had been destroyed — when, in reality, it was only 2%.

The protests and the deployment of the National Guard and Marines also appeared threatening in the media …
We work right in the city centre and didn’t see any of that. The demonstrations were very peaceful. There were isolated incidents that were essentially confined to an area of one square mile – in a region totalling almost 4,600 square miles! However, the media coverage made it seem dystopian: LA is on fire, that was an exaggeration. It’s important for people to know that we are open to visitors without restrictions.

What does this mean for marketing and communication?
First, we put our community at the centre of everything we do. We want to ensure that we are always very sensitive in our tone and content. For example, we temporarily refrained from sending advertising messages to consumers when it seemed inappropriate. Before launching our “Dine LA” program two weeks after the fires, we got the ‘go’ from the restaurant community. Over 420 restaurants participated.

Tourism can do so much good. For every Dine LA reservation, we donated $5 to wildfire relief, and the Bank of California matched our contribution. So, if you went out to lunch for $15, $10 went to wildfire relief. But most importantly, the restaurants were so well attended that many extended the Dine LA promotion on their own for the first time ever.

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How does LA’s “open for business” message reach potential travellers?
One of the key lessons from the pandemic has been the importance of professional travel advisors. People turn to travel advisors and DMOs because they want to know who is a trustworthy source of reliable, up-to-date and accurate information. This has stuck — people want to be sure that a travel consultant is not trying to sell them a particular package for a commission, but rather truly understands their needs and will put together something tailor-made for them.

In the last six months, I believe the role of the travel agent is more important now than ever, especially in LA.

Currently, there is a lot of inaccurate and exaggerated information circulating about traveling to the USA, such as stricter entry rules and an unwelcoming attitude towards visitors. What can be done about this?
With social media’s proliferation as a distribution channel for consumer media, ensuring that accurate information is disseminated everywhere is impossible. But at least with the travel industry, there is a very trustworthy channel. People believe what they hear from their travel agent. Therefore, this is the best way to disseminate accurate information. So this is the best way to spread correct information. And that’s why we don’t expect a significant drop in visitor numbers overall. I am cautiously optimistic as we have almost fully recovered in the last year.

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What makes you so confident that demand will not drop off sharply?
According to our research, people’s perception of Los Angeles largely aligns with our self-perception. I firmly believe that the best marketing is to authentically communicate who you are as a destination. That’s why we continue to celebrate that LA is one of the most diverse and inclusive communities in the world.

The beauty of this is that it’s backed up by research, including focus groups in Germany. Some of the recurring terms are “personal freedom, “a place where I feel not only welcome but also at home in the community, and “a place where I can be myself” — there are things I would try in LA that I would never try at home.

Marketing the city as a sports city is at the top of Burke’s list of priorities.

Summer business is up, but tour operators are reporting sluggish bookings for autumn, winter and 2026. What to do now?
Yes, summer is basically fully booked already. Bookings were made in January and February. Now, we must promote new content to boost demand. If you just stayed static with your message, there will probably be a decline. Fortunately, there are new developments, such as the opening of Metro’s direct train service from LAX airport, which will lead to an increase in visitors.

Los Angeles is set to host several major events in the coming years, most notably the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games.
In the lead-up to such major events, most destinations tend to experience a lull. That’s why, as part of our collaboration with the travel industry, we are focusing heavily on sport, because we know it is an important factor, especially for German travellers. We now have eleven professional sports teams, and visitors can enjoy these intense sporting experiences all year round. There are also some fantastic new venues, such as the Intuit Dome — the new home of the LA Clippers basketball team. The NBA All-Star Game will take place there next year. Opposite is the SoFi Stadium — a complete new entertainment center has been created.

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There is also a lot going on in the cultural sector…
Indeed, art and culture are also very important to German travellers. Film fans can look forward to the opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art next year. Our art and culture scene is currently enjoying a renaissance, too. We have just opened the NHM Commons, a brand-new wing of the Natural History Museum featuring beautiful outdoor spaces and completely new, immersive experiences.

And at the California Science Center, the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center pavilion is almost finished. It’s the only place in the world where you can see a space shuttle and its booster rockets in a vertical position. There are a lot of new attractions like this that will push demand in the second half of the year and hopefully make up for any losses.

Adam Burke — here with fvw|TravelTalk editor and North America specialist Holger M. Jacobs — is full of praise for travel agents in key source markets such as Germany.

How can the messages of safe, easy entry, hospitality and many new reasons to visit best reach potential German visitors?
It is most effective when travel professionals and media representatives can pass these messages on to customers and readers based on their own experience. That’s why we continue to organize many Fam Trips. You really have to experience it for yourself.

The USA has long been considered very expensive, especially California. Now flights and the dollar have become cheaper — but is that enough to convince families, for example?
There are now great budget options for families. We need offers in every price range, so there is certainly still a large luxury market. But there are a lot of families travelling on a budget, and for them, we have a lot more hotel deals, a lot more options, so they can enjoy high-quality, personalized experiences as a family even on a limited budget.

So, are you feeling cautiously optimistic?
Yes! We are trying to be smart. We have learned in recent years that you have to be very agile. When you see changes in the market, you have to react accordingly. Currently, we are focusing heavily on countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, as unfortunately there are longer waiting times for visas in some markets, and on countries where air travel is fully restored. And LA is benefiting not only from Lufthansa, but also from Condor, which is of course a great asset for LA, and from the US airlines that are expanding their routes from Germany to Los Angeles.

In addition, the billion-dollar modernization of LAX is almost complete. I am cautiously optimistic because entry barriers are very low. Germans feel very comfortable in LA. There are many important demand factors for German travellers, so I’m optimistic about the future as long as we continue to work with the German travel industry.

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