To its credit, there is nothing subtle about Louisiana, whether it’s the state’s zesty culture, grand architecture, antebellum mansions, expansive bayous, deep Civil War history, rich cuisine, or multicultural mix of people.
“There is no other place with as much unique culture as Louisiana and so much diversity,” says Chuck Morse of the Louisiana Office of Tourism.
Least subtle of all is the state’s star attraction, New Orleans, which has made significant recovery strides since being slammed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. With the continuing challenges to dispel misperceptions about devastation throughout the state, the Louisiana Office of Tourism launched a special advertising program last year.
“Our $11 million ‘Fall in Love with Louisiana All Over Again’ campaign is the largest in the state’s history,” Morse says. “‘We are open for business’ is our message. We’re already noticing an up-tick in perception.”
The tourism office is also working with local CVBs to lure back business and leisure tourists. Last year the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved $28.5 million in federal funds through its Community Development Block Grant Program, specifically allocated for the Louisiana Tourism Marketing Program. Money is being given to the 14 most-impacted areas from the hurricane to help build on the state’s campaign.
New Orleans
Mardi Gras reverie, Mississippi riverboat cruises, funky galleries and boutiques, voodoo culture, and a heavy infusion of jazz, are all still alive and well and part of the seductive mystique of New Orleans. But the city continues to struggle to get that message out in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. While the media focuses on the besieged areas around the city, its tourist zones, including the French Quarter, are nearly back to 100 percent as far as hotels, restaurants and attractions.
“Meeting attendees were never more welcome or appreciated until now,” says Mary Beth Romig, director of communications and public relations for the New Orleans Metropolitan CVB.
In the aftermath of Katrina, New Orleans lost more than $2 billion in both business and leisure travel. The city retained about 40 percent of its convention business in 2006. That number is expected to grow to 70 percent this year and to expand to nearly 90 percent for 2008, according to Romig. Efforts are also focusing on attracting corporate groups and bringing shorter-term meetings business to the city.
The CVB has its own international ad campaign: “Forever New Orleans.” Aside from its new logo, the CVB is promoting tourism with new catch phrases, several specific to the meetings market, such as “Meet with inspiration in New Orleans” and “We promise perfect attendants at your meeting” to show off its hospitality. One ad was created in response to continuing queries about whether the city is still flooded. It shows someone standing in front of the city’s Aquarium of the Americas with the tagline, “To be clear, this is the only part of New Orleans still under water.”
The city got a much-needed boost hosting MPI’s annual Professional Education Conference–North America in January, with some 2,600 attendees converging on the “Crescent City.”
“MPI’s meeting gave the city a glowing vote of confidence,” Romig says. “We were able to show that the city is willing and able to handle large and small meetings and allay fears about crime and safety. By coming here they could see the city as it is today, which goes a long way.”
One post-Katrina trend in meetings is “voluntourism,” in which groups work a day of community service into the agenda—anything from cleaning a city park to painting the hallways of schools.
Two of the city’s outlying areas, Jefferson Parish, referred to as “New Orleans Gateway,” and St. Tammany Parish, known as “New Orleans Northshore,” have also staged aggressive comebacks.
Jefferson Parish, named after Thomas Jefferson, encompasses communities such as Kenner, Metairie and Westwego.
Large group venues in Jefferson Parish include Pontchartrain Center, with close to 70,000 square feet of meeting space, as well as the John A. Alario Sr. Event Center, while the Treasure Chest Casino and the Louisiana Toy Train Museum are popular attractions.
The Metairie Hotel, formerly a Wyndham property, was reflagged the Sheraton Metairie last August. The hotel offers 181 guest rooms and four meeting rooms.
Metairie’s Doubletree New Orleans Lakeside is slated to reopen in April as the New Orleans Marriott Metairie at Lakeway, with 250 guest units and 6,500 square feet of meeting space.
Just 40 minutes from downtown New Orleans, St. Tammany Parish, home to communities such as Slidell, Covington and Mandeville, offers a nature-filled escape and more than 100,000 square feet of conference space. Boating and fishing in Lake Pontchartrain and the bayous are popular, as are golfing and horseback riding.
One prime meetings spot is the Northshore Harbor Center, featuring 50,000 square feet of function space.
Homewood Suites Covington opened in November with 86 guest units, a boardroom and two meeting rooms.
La Quinta Inn and Suites Covington opened in September 2006 with 65 guest units and 1,200 square feet of meeting space.
Baton Rouge
With riverfront property along the Mississippi, lavish plantation homes and the newly renovated Old State Capitol, Baton Rouge is blossoming as a tourism destination.
Downtown Baton Rouge has been the recipient of an extreme makeover during the past year, which has included the opening of the 69,000-square-foot Louisiana State Museum, the $55 million Shaw Center for the Arts and more than 40 restaurants.
“People find us to be an affordable option that gives a lot of value,” says Renee Areng, executive vice president of sales and marketing at the Baton Rouge Area CVB.
The city’s largest group venue, the Baton Rouge River Center, recently more than doubled in size and now boasts four facilities: an arena, an exhibition hall, a ballroom, and a performing arts theater. The facility, which is planning to further expand next year, is already committed almost completely for 2007 and 2008.
“We’re looking much further out for business beyond 2009,” Areng says.
Adjacent to the center is the 300-room Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center, offering more than 40,000 square feet of function space.
The big news in town has been the debut of the 293-room Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, formerly the Heidelberg Hotel and Capitol House, with nearly 20,000 square feet of meeting space. The historic property underwent a $60 million restoration prior to reopening with the Hilton flag.
Meanwhile, the boutique King Hotel is scheduled to open in 2008.
Aside from the Baton Rouge River Center and hotel meeting facilities, groups can take advantage of several unique off-site venues, including Alligator Bayou, which has an outdoor pavilion for gatherings of up to 150 people and offers Cajun and zydeco music, dancing and boat tours of the swamp; the USS Kidd, a restored World War II destroyer featuring a 100-seat auditorium; the Old State Capitol, which can be rented for events; and the Shaw Center for the Arts, housing the Louisiana State University Museum of Art, a 325-seat theater and several unique event venues.
West Baton Rouge, located just across the Mississippi River, is another meetings-ready option in the area. The destination offers the West Baton Rouge Conference Center as well as off-site locales such as the West Baton Rouge Museum and the Nottoway Plantation.
Lafayette
Lafayette entices visitors with its swamp tours, gardens, zydeco music, Cajun and Creole flavors, and sport fishing.
“People are drawn to the warmth of our area, our culture,” says Karen Primeaux, convention marketing manager for the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission.
Lafayette is also an easy drive-to location, and its regional airport supports four large carriers.
“We’re a small large city,” Primeaux says. “Visitors can sit in on live music jams, join the locals dancing, taste the great local cuisine, and at the same time dress up and go to see the ballet and other performing arts.”
Lafayette’s main group facilities are the Cajundome, offering 40,000 square feet of floor space as well as meeting rooms, and the Convention Center at the Cajundome, with 100,000 square feet of meeting space. A 153-room Hilton Garden Inn, located next to the center, opened in 2006 with 2,400 square feet of function space.
Additionally, the Hilton Lafayette and Towers and the Holiday Inn Lafayette recently finished renovations to guest units and meeting facilities.
Lafayette celebrates its heritage at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, a venue for performing and visual arts presentations. The center can host meetings or set up theme parties.
Lake Charles
Water is at the heart of the Lake Charles region. It’s located on the banks of the Calcasieu River in southwestern Louisiana and borders both Lake Charles and Prien Lake. This major shipping port is also home to a number of riverboat casinos.
Water and wind took its toll on Lake Charles in 2005 with Hurricane Rita. To the south, Cameron Parish was hit worse and is still being rebuilt.
“Emergency crews and building companies are still staying in our hotels, so we do not have as many large conventions as a few years ago,” says Tico Soto, sales director for the Southwest Louisiana CVB. “Our saving grace has been our casinos.”
Lake Charles is home to Pinnacle Entertainment’s L’Auberge du Lac Hotel and Casino, featuring an event center with more than 26,000 square feet of space, a Tom Fazio-designed golf course and a spa. The property will finish a 250-room expansion this fall.
Pinnacle Entertainment plans to build a $350 million casino resort, Sugarcane Bay, adjacent to L’Auberge du Lac. With Sugarcane’s 400 rooms, Soto says Lake Charles will soon rebound back to 1,500 rooms.
Groups can also utilize the Lake Charles Civic Center.
Shreveport/Bossier City
Straddling the Red River at the crossroads of Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas, Shreveport and Bossier City offer their own unique brand of culture.
“We’re a little Cajun, a little cowboy,” says Kim Brice, vice president of convention marketing for the Shreveport–Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. “Even though we’re small, a lot of people tell us how surprised they are we have big-city amenities, along with Southern hospitality and great service.”
The 350,000-square-foot Shreveport Convention Center debuted in 2006 as the state’s second-largest convention facility. The Shreveport Hilton hotel is scheduled to open adjacent to the center in April, with meeting facilities and 313 guest rooms, bringing the area’s total room count to approximately 8,500.
In Bossier City, the Century Tel Center arena and the Bossier City Civic Center Complex are available for large groups.
Riverboat casinos are a key draw for the area, and each has its own hotel and meeting facilities. Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino, for example, offers an 18,000-square-foot ballroom, while Diamond Jack’s Casino Resort has 22,000 square feet of meeting space.
Attendees can enjoy everything from riverboat tours, the Sci-Port Discovery Center and the Ark-La-Tex Mardi Gras Museum to symphony, opera and ballet.
Meanwhile, shopping, dining and entertainment are highlights of the new Louisiana Boardwalk along the Bossier City riverfront as well as Shreveport’s Red River District.
Monroe/West Monroe
The twin cities of Monroe and West Monroe lay claim to a variety of achievements, including the birthplace of Delta Air Lines and the home of the first Coca-Cola Bottling Company. National wildlife refuges blanket the region, and there are galleries in Monroe and antique shops in West Monroe.
Affordability is a key selling point for the destination; the average nightly room rate is approximately $69, according to Alison Wall, communications director of the Monroe–West Monroe CVB.
The Monroe Regional Airport also offers direct flights between Atlanta, Houston, Memphis, and Dallas, making the destination easily accessible.
Group facilities include the Monroe Civic Center and the West Monroe Convention Center.
The Atrium Hotel and Conference Centre is undergoing a major expansion that will enable the property to host groups of up to 800 people, while the Hilton Garden Inn West Monroe will open in April with more than 3,300 square feet of meeting space.
Alexandria/Pineville
Situated on opposite sides of the Red River in the middle of Louisiana, Alexandria and Pineville take full advantage of their location.
“We are at the center of the state, the heart of Louisiana,” says Shanna Worth, public relations and sports market manager for the Alexandria Pineville Area CVB.
The region features a number of parks, including the 600,000-acre Kisatchie National Forest, the state’s only national forest.
The destination’s largest convention facility, the Alexandria Riverfront Center, is connected to a 150-room hotel and offers 93,000 square feet of function space.
The area is also home to Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville, which plans to finish an expansion this summer. The project includes the addition of a 250-room hotel, bringing the property’s room count to more than 500; a new 2,500-seat multipurpose Mari Center; and an 8,000-square-foot ballroom. The existing Mari Center will become an extension to the casino.
Hotel developments slated for Alexandria this year include the reopening of the historic Hotel Bentley and the opening of an 80-room Holiday Inn Express and a 106-room Hampton Inn and Suites, while Pineville will debut a new 100-room Country Inn and Suites.
For More Info
Alexandria Pineville Area CVB 318.442.9546
www.apacvb.org
Baton Rouge Area CVB 225.383.1825
www.bracvb.com
Jefferson CVB 504.731.7083
www.neworleansgateway.com
Kenner CVB 504.464.9494
www.kennercvb.com
Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission 337.232.3737
www.lafayettetravel.com
Louisiana Office of Tourism 225.342.8100
www.louisianatravel.com
Monroe–West Monroe CVB 318.387.5691
www.monroe-westmonroe.org
New Orleans Metropolitan CVB 504.566.5011
www.neworleanscvb.com
Ruston–Lincoln CVB 318.255.2031
www.rustonlincoln.com
Shreveport–Bossier City Convention & Tourist Bureau 318.222.9391
www.shreveport-bossier.org
Southwest Louisiana CVB 337.436.9588
www.visitlakecharles.org
St. Tammany Parish Tourist & Conv. Commission 985.892.0520
www.neworleansnorthshore.com
West Baton Rouge CVB 225.344.2920
www.westbatonrouge.net
