LAKE CHARLES, La. (August 20, 2022) - Visit Lake Charles is honored to host the Louisiana Travel Summit at the Golden Nugget, Tuesday – Thursday, Aug. 23-25. The event, presented by the Louisiana Travel Association, is expected to bring more than 500 attendees to Southwest Louisiana for the largest educational opportunity for tourism professionals in the state.
Summit attendees will experience highlights such as a keynote address from Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser on the state of the tourism industry and initiatives that the state is pursuing to bolster travel to Louisiana. The event will also feature educational speakers from across the country covering a variety of subjects including group business, product development, digital marketing, social media, public relations, leadership practices, international travel, and the championing of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the tourism space.
"The travel industry has undergone an incredible transformation over the past two years with the economic impact of the Covid pandemic, but also wave after wave of challenges that have impacted particularly the state of Louisiana through natural disasters. Now more than ever, it is critical for the industry to come together to create innovative sales and marketing strategies to elevate the travel and tourism industry, which is one of the top employers in the state,” said Kyle Edmiston, president/CEO of Visit Lake Charles.
In 2021, Louisiana attracted 41 million domestic and international visitors, generating $16.8 billion in visitor spending, and there were $1.6 billion total state and local tax revenues resulting from travel and tourism activities in Louisiana. The Louisiana travel and tourism industry is the 5th highest employer in the state.
“Tourism has been a major economic driver for our community for many years, and we are thrilled to once again welcome industry professionals from across the state to Lake Charles for the annual Louisiana Travel Summit,” said Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter. “The Gulf Coast region of our state has experienced much devastation in recent years due to a string of natural disasters. Southwest Louisiana in particular was deeply impacted, but the resiliency of our community has been a bright light during this time, and we look forward to showcasing the progress made while sharing the great news that Southwest Louisiana is open for business!”
While summit attendees are in the Lake Area, Visit Lake Charles staff organized tours to highlight adventures in the great outdoors as well as opportunities to sample locally made products and explore attractions and local businesses that cater to the overall visitor experience in Southwest Louisiana.
To learn more about the conference, visit www.louisianatravelassociation.org.
###
