Tourism grows in L. A., state

But spending by international visitors statewide was down last year, a new report shows.

Tourism in California and Los Angeles County continued on its record pace last year, largely driven by new visitors from Asia. But spending by international visitors statewide was down as weaker foreign currency curbed their purchasing power in the U. S.

That was the upshot from two studies released Monday at an Orange County tourism conference.

In Los Angeles County, a record 45.6 million travelers visited the region last year, up 3.2% from 44.2 million in 2014. Nearly 7 million of those visitors were international travelers, with many coming from China and South Korea, according to one study from the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.

Those tourists spent more than $ 20.6 billion in 2015, more than ever before and a 4.9% increase in spending over the previous year, the study found.

Overall, California drew an estimated 258 million visitors in 2015, a 3% increase over 2014, according to an earlier report from Visit California, the travel and tourism agency for the state.

Those visitors spent $ 122.5 billion in 2015, a 3.4% increase over the previous year, according to a study released at the Orange County event by Dean Runyan Associates, the economic analysis firm based in Portland, Ore.

However, the statewide increase was driven by domestic travelers while spending by international visitors dropped, according to the report, which did not detail how much spending changed for each group.

“As the value of foreign currencies fall relative to the U. S. dollar, foreign visitors have less money to spend on U. S. goods and services,” the Dean Runyan report said.

In August, the Chinese government devalued the yuan, which is pegged against the U. S. dollar, in an effort to boost its manufacturing and export sectors.