L.A.'s latest attraction: malls.

Paris has the Louvre, New York has Broadway, Cairo has the pyramids.

Los Angeles has ... shopping.

Nearly 24 million tourists are expected to descend on Los Angeles this year, spending an, estimated $11 billion, more than ever before.

Plenty of that will be dropped at local theme parks, restaurants and hotels, as always. But a growing portion (about 20 percent) is being spent at local retail centers.

Rodeo Drive, Third Street Promenade, Old Town Pasadena and the Beverly Center are among the top 20 L.A. tourist destinations today, according to the L.A. Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"There are parts of the world that 20 years ago didn't know the meaning of discretionary income," said Michael Collins, the bureau's executive vice president. "Now, we have enormous population segments with extraordinary amounts of cash."

That fact has not escaped the notice of local retailers.

Bloomingdale's has cut a deal with local hotels to provide tourists special gifts and complimentary makeovers. Santa Monica Place offers a discount card to tourists, and the Beverly Center is adding a Los Angeles Convention and Visitor's Bureau booth, now under construction.

Tourists' fascination with shopping in L.A. may seem curious, considering that most L.A. stores are outlets of national or global chains.

But L.A., while expensive relative to most other areas of the United States, is a steal compared to Tokyo, Paris and other high-priced foreign cities. Plus, its high-gloss Hollywood-influenced mystique makes it a place that foreigners find irresistible.

"People back in Australia are aware of the good deals we can get over here, so shopping becomes part of the trip itself," said Craig Rossiter. a Sydney entertainment industry worker who was stocking up last week at Santa Monica Place. "I brought some Nike shoes; they're about $40 to $60 cheaper than I would pay back home. I also bought five pairs of Levi's jeans; they're about $120 back home, but here I paid just $42."

Konnami Horiuchi, a young woman from Yamamashi, Japan, likewise loves L.A.'s "bargains" and cutting-edge fashions.

"L.A. is a great place to shop because you can get so many brands and the latest things are here," she said. "I will see the places like Universal and Disneyland, but I mostly just want to shop."

With that degree of enthusiasm, it's little wonder local retailers are going to great lengths to attract out-of-towners. The Beverly Center, for example, employs a full-time tourism director and is building a visitor's lounge area.

The biggest marketing angle: discount cards.

At Santa Monica Place, cards can be imprinted with the tour group's name and are available in six languages. It is distributed to tour operators who use it as an added incentive when selling tour packages.

"We have no financial arrangement with the tour group operators that use the card," said Robin Faulk, the center's marketing manager. "The operator gets the card for free and they use that card to enhance their package."

The 90,000 tourists who visit Santa Monica Place annually now account for 30 percent of the mall's total sales, said Faulk.

About 70 buses per week pull into the designated tour bus area, each depositing about 50 shoppers per trip. In 1992, just 20 buses per week visited the center, Faulk said.

A major supplier of tourists is the Japan Travel Bureau, which operates a reception lounge in the center.

The bureau's tour groups are shuttled directly to the lounge alter flights arrive at LAX. Visitors are then assigned to buses for a city tour. Their first taste of L.A. is often a mall.

Meanwhile, at the L.A. area's newest major shopping destination, Ontario Mills in San Bernardino County, Director of Tourism Bob Amaro tries to greet as many buses as he can.

An average of 130 tour group buses a month visit the sprawling discount center. The tourists, most of whom are from Asia, head for Off-Rodeo, a collection of designer stores, Amaro said.

Tourists are given a shopping bag and discount coupon books that are redeemable at 75 of the center's 220 retailers. "We operate on cooperative marketing efforts; there are no contracts between tour operators and Ontario Mills (to bring the tourists to the center)," Amaro said.

Ontario Mills is expecting tourists to account for 25 to 30 percent of its shopper base for the next few years.

The Inland Empire has been a big draw for tourists who travel with Kintetsu International. said Nobu Yamamoto, the tour group operator's marketing and special events manager.

"We bring about 130,000 people per year from Japan to Los Angeles, and they like to shop at Ontario Mills and Moreno Valley Mall," he said.

"These are popular items, much more important to our clients than a store or center that has staff that speaks several languages. As shopping is shopping, you really don't need an interpreter for prices," Yamamoto added.

Mary Rossetti, general manager of the 2 Rodeo shopping complex in Beverly Hills, faces a special challenge - a shortage of parking space. "Where do you put a 30-foot bus when parking is already at a premium?" she said.

She worked with Beverly Hills transportation officials to clear a spot in front of the center where buses can lead and unload passengers. "We get 15 to 30 buses per day and they each have just 10 minutes at that staging area," she said.

Rossetti advertises 2 Rodeo nationally, in English and Japanese publications. This exposure draws in the tourists who already visit Beverly Hills in huge numbers, she said.

Janet Unger, Bloomingdale's operating vice president of international marketing, doesn't feel national or even international advertising is what draws tourists.

"It's much more productive to advertise in publications that the tourist will read once they are here, such as in-room magazines at hotels," she said.

Bloomingdale's works with hotels to offer value-added programs, such as cards good for a free gift or makeover that are given to guests upon check in. The chain has also just added a full-time tourism director for its California stores.

Unger estimates that more than 20 percent of all purchases at Bloomingdale's are made by tourists. They are extremely brand-oriented and key in on American designers such as Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren, she said.