VIDEO : Chinese Come To L.A. For Kobe Bryant

As Los Angeles celebrates its fifth straight year of record-breaking tourism, officials in part can thank visitors from China who, despite their reputed disdain for lying on the beach, now make up the second-largest group of international travelers to this sun-drenched city. Ernest Wooden, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention bureau told Reuters in an interview, "There is a fascination in China for Los Angeles," "They will come here and rent cars on their own, they are wealthier, often highly educated, and willing to venture out to San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas. Adding "They love the Lakers, they deify Kobe Bryant. That's a demographic shift,"