It is with immense enthusiasm that we share with you our newly completed three-year strategic plan, which will serve as a roadmap to drive our visitor-related economy and enhance the quality of life in Southwest Louisiana.
APPROACH
Our journey towards this strategic plan has been a collaborative effort with Corragio Group that involved robust stakeholder outreach to ensure that hundreds of voices, from community and industry partners to residents, were heard throughout the planning process. Grounded in data from document reviews, research, and Coraggio’s expertise, these inputs from one-on-one interviews and statewide surveys guided both plans, informing the actionable solutions to organizational change management, resourcing, relationship-building, and strategic focus.
As part of the advance work leading up to the development of the Plan, Coraggio Group conducted eleven one-on-one interviews with tourism industry stakeholders, ten interviews with staff of Visit Lake Charles, a stakeholder survey that resulted in 1035 respondents, and two stakeholder virtual listening sessions. The purpose of these engagement touch points was to develop an understanding of how stakeholders, residents, and staff view the organization, envision the future of Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana (SWLA) as a destination, and the strategic opportunities that might be leveraged and challenges that may need to be addressed to ensure the local visitor economy has the impact desired.
With the entire community engaged and their voices heard, Visit Lake Charles’ core planning team, composed of diverse staff members met over multiple sessions to shape the plan. As they envisioned the ideal future of tourism in Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana and the strategies needed to get there, Visit Lake Charles courageously thought deeply about the implications of potential actions on historically marginalized communities. Our commitment to inclusivity shows in the initiatives and performance indicators under every strategic imperative. Visit Lake Charles’ passion for telling Southwest Louisiana’s story and thoughtfully supporting the visitor economy shines throughout this plan—one created by the industry for the industry.
OUTCOME
The Visit Lake Charles Three-Year Strategic Plan is the culmination of a comprehensive, collaborative effort with Coraggio Group, engaging a diverse range of stakeholders, community partners, residents, and industry experts. Through extensive outreach, including interviews, surveys, and listening sessions, the collective input of hundreds of voices has informed this strategic plan.
To set the stage, our plan highlights our vision, mission, values, reputation, and position, all of which serve as fundamental focuses for the Visit Lake Charles team. Our three imperatives outlined in the plan include developing diversified tourism products, partnering and advocating to develop our community, and integrating data-driven decision-making. In alignment with our three imperatives, the plan takes a deep dive into the objectives and initiatives that will be utilized to accomplish each imperative over the next three years. These initiatives will support public and private partnerships, product development opportunities, and explore ways to support historically marginalized communities.
We invite you to download and explore the full Visit Lake Charles Three-Year Strategic Plan. Your insights, feedback, and continued support are vital as we work together to showcase our region as a world-class destination.
DOWNLOAD HERE
