Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser says Louisiana is getting federal funds to help make up for its tourism losses during the pandemic. He says before COVID the state’s international market was growing by double digits.
“We’ve been investing heavily in the foreign markets since we’ve come out of COVID because we were on a roll before COVID, so we want to get back to those record-breaking numbers,” Nungesser says.
$300,000 from the US Department of Commerce will be added to $600,000 in existing state funds to promote Louisiana in Madrid Spain, Milan Italy, and Mumbai India.
“Those international visitors, they stay longer, they spend more money, and they see more than just one city or state,” Nungesser says.
Nungesser says one of the most popular Louisiana destinations for international visitors is the Poverty Point World Heritage Site in West Carroll Parish.
He says a recent marketing campaign aimed at attracting visitors from London worked well. Now tourism officials will make their first-ever promotional trip to Australia. He says they will bring tourism experts from all over the state to share the Louisiana experience with Australian foreign tourism officials.
“It just gives them that warm and fuzzy feeling, we bring that love and passion with us, and so it really gets people excited about booking trips here to Louisiana,” he added.
Comments