Tourism officials celebrated National Travel and Tourism Week today in St. Landry Parish.
Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser was among the dignitaries who were on hand to highlight the economic impact of tourism in St. Landry Parish. He delivered a keynote on how local communities benefit from tourism through examples of increased business and tax revenues.
The event was held this morning at the Wolff Banquet and Reception Hall in Washington.
We’ll have more tonight at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
“There’s no better place to celebrate than here in Louisiana,” Nungesser said of the week. “We’re expecting our numbers from 2018 any day, and we’re expecting another record-breaking year.”
Nungesser said tourism numbers are up all over the state, which he attributes to the staycation program and the promotion among Louisiana residents. This year there will be more than 100,000 hotel rooms in the state, and that’s all over the state, he said.
“That’s a pretty incredible thing for Louisiana,” he said.
Louisiana definitely leads the pack in setting up return visits, he added.
“We do a better job of getting people to come back because we treat strangers like they’re family. We open our arms to the world,” he said. “Louisianians help us promote Louisiana. It’s our people who keep our numbers going up, because of the way we treat visitors from all over the world.”
