Louisiana Travel Promotion Association kicked off the largest educational opportunity at the ‘Lt. Governor’s Tourism Summit’. A “State of the Industry” address from Lt. Governor kicked off Summit with how the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism is moving the state forward in the world marketplace as Louisiana celebrates its fourth consecutive record-breaking year. Kyle Edmiston, Asst. Secretary of the Louisiana Office of Tourism spoke at a General Session about breaking down the Louisiana visitor profile data with the help of statewide research and marketing experts. Top educational speakers from around the country spoke at workshops addressing the latest industry trends. These educational sessions were tailored to different areas of the tourism industry with new ideas, tips, tools and key takeaways. Other opportunities included networking breaks with other tourism professionals and much more. The Tourism Summit was held in Shreveport at the Hilton Convention Center, August 23-25th.
Attendees started off with Area Familiarization Tours around Shreveport/Bossier City including a Shopping Tour, Discover the Arts and Sciences and a Taste of Shreveport/Bossier. Sam’s Town Casino hosted the Opening Reception Tuesday evening, where tourism partners noshed on food items including the Official North Louisiana meal, tamales, and Natchitoches meat pies. Music was provided by Windstorm Entertainment out of Shreveport.
Natchitoches CVB staff that were in attendance at Summit included Jean Carter, Travel Counselor and Stephanie Rabb, NSU/HMT Intern who both took the LTPA Travel Counselor exam to become “Certified Travel Counselors”, Madeline DeBlieux, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Katherine Johnson, Groups and Special Events Manager and Arlene Gould, Executive Director. Also in attendance were Melissa Cloutier with Chateau Saint Denis, Rebecca Blankenbaker of Cane River National Heritage Area, and Samantha Bonnette with Natchitoches Main Street.
Picture: from left to right – Madeline DeBlieux, Jean Carter, Stephanie Rabb, Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, Arlene Gould, and Rebecca Blankenbaker shown at the Travel Fair Breakfast and Showcase at Summit