Los Angeles welcomed a record 41.4 million visitors in 2012, a 2.5 percent increase over the previous record-high 40.4 million visitors in 2011 and slightly ahead of the mid-year forecast of 41.3 million visitors, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LA Tourism) executives announced today.

A former finance minister hailed the joining together of tourism organizations across the Caribbean to revamp the regional website, www.CaribbeanTravel.com as a "wonderful and much needed show of unity in an increasingly crowded global market."

The United States Virgin Islands will continue to make Denmark and the wider Scandinavian market a priority for its tourism sector, according to USVI Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty. The Commissioner was part of a USVI delegation to Denmark this week.

Intra-American tourism is a highlight of that growth. “Before it was really difficult to go from one country to another,” said Stanley Motta, chairman of the board of Copa Holdings. His company, moved 2.3 million passengers in the first two months of this year, has realized the importance of “connecting the Americas with the Americas."