Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser State of the Tourism Industry Quarterly Report October – December 2019

Lodging

Occupancy (%) Quarterly Yr/Yr 70.0%

60.0%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0% Oct Nov Dec 2019 64.2% 59.9% 51.9% 2018 65.8% 60.4% 52.0%

 Louisiana’s occupancy had a slight decrease of 0.3 percent over December 2018.  The number of rooms available (supply) grew 1.3 percent over December 2018.  The number of rooms sold (demand) increased 1.0 percent over December 2018.  Louisiana ended 2019 with 101,090 rooms statewide.

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Average Daily Rate (ADR) ($) Quarterly Yr/Yr $140.00

$120.00

$100.00

$80.00

$60.00

$40.00

$20.00

$- Oct Nov Dec 2019 $119.51 $112.42 $103.56 2018 $124.32 $115.43 $104.40

 Average daily rates (ADR) have decreased slightly by 0.8 percent over December 2018.  Room revenue generated from sale of rooms (RevPAR) was down 1.1 percent over December 2018.

Tourism Jobs (Seasonally adjusted) Tourism Jobs Quarterly

Dec

Nov

Oct

234.0 235.0 236.0 237.0 238.0 239.0 240.0 241.0 242.0 243.0 Oct Nov Dec 2019 238.9 240.6 241.8 2018 238.0 237.0 237.2

 Louisiana leisure & hospitality employment ended 2019 with a 2 percent increase year over year, employing nearly 242,000 people.

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 Employment is up 1.2 percent over October.

LouisianaTravel.com  Website visits had the best October in its history and 2019 was the best November ever.  Website traffic sessions (visits) increased 43 percent in the last 3 months year over year.  Pageviews increased 36 percent year over year.  Time on the website home page has increased 50 percent in the last 3 months year over year.  Website visits by Germany, Mexico, and the Netherlands saw increases in website sessions over 2018.

Enplanements  Lafayette Regional airport enplanements increased by 11 percent over December 2018.

Bayou Krewe  385 signups through December 2019, for a new lifetime total of 11,542.  Images tagged with #OnlyLouisiana on Instagram through December 2019 were 8,000, making a new lifetime total of 183,000.

Calendar of Events (also see attached quarterly brochure) February 8 Black Heritage Festival, Lake Charles

February 8–9 Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon and Half Marathon (CGP Award)

February 14–15 Annual Eagle Expo & More, Morgan City (CGP Award)

February 24 Lundi Gras Boucherie, Eunice

March 1 Chitimacha LA Open, Lafayette (LOT Sponsorship)

March 11–14 New Orleans Bourbon Festival, New Orleans

March 13–15 Independence Silician Heritage Festival, Independence

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March 14 Wearin' of the Green St. Patrick's Day Parade, Baton Rouge

March 14 Festival of Live Oaks, New Iberia

March 15 Metairie Road St. Patrick's Day Parade, Metairie

March 17–22 Cajun Classic, Baton Rouge (LOT Sponsorship)

March 19-21 Iowa Rabbit Festival, Lake Charles

March 18–22 New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, New Orleans

March 20–21 Cane River Film Festival, Natchitoches (LOT Sponsorship)

March 20–21 Crawfest, Shreveport

March 20–22 Audubon Pilgrimage, St. Francisville (CGP Award)

March 20–22 Amite Oyster Festival, Amite

March 21 Marching Bands Challenge Battle of the Bands, Shreveport (CGP Award)

March 21 Acadian Memorial Heritage Festival, St. Martinville

March 21 Louisiana Redbud Festival, Vivian

March 22 Abita Springs Busker Festival, Abita Springs

March 22 Louisiana Irish-Italian Parade, Metairie

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March 23–29 PGA Korn Ferry, Lake Charles (LOT Sponsorship)

March 25–29 Tennessee Williams / New Orleans Literary Festival, New Orleans

March 26–29 Louisiana Crawfish Festival, Chalmette

March 28 Louisiana Food Truck Festival, Slidell

March 28 Tunica Hills Music Fest and Jam, St. Francisville

LOT Activities January 10-14 ABA (American Bus Association) Annual Meeting & Marketplace, Omaha, NE

January 16-19 Vakantiebeurs, Netherlands

January 17-19 Indianapolis Golf Show, Indianapolis

January 22 TravMedia’s IMM, New York

January 22-26 FITUR 2020: International Tourism Fair, Madrid

February 3 Winterlicious Media Mission, Toronto

February 7-9 St Louis Golf Show, St. Louis

February 8 LAFF Convention, Baton Rouge

February 19-21 Connect Travel Marketplace

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February 25-26 RTO Summit West, Marina del Rey, CA

March 4–8 ITB (International Tourismus), Berlin, Germany

March 8–11 Travel South Domestic Showcase, Baton Rouge, LA (LOT Sponsorship)

March 28-29 Travel & Adventure Show

March 31–April 2 Active America China Travel Summit, San Diego, CA

What’s New

New Orleans The Riverboat Louis Armstrong opened in December and is the newest large-scale venue and one of the largest riverboats in the region. The Higgins Hotel & Conference Center opened on Magazine Street, featuring the city’s newest rooftop bar, event space and dining – all set with art deco design. New Orleans again hosted Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. Hosted by Billy Porter, the segment featured Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, Amanda Shaw and Louisiana Seafood. November saw the launch of the new direct flight by Air Transat between Montreal and New Orleans. Flying twice a week with 189 seats per flight, this new flight connects Louisiana even more closely to French-speaking Canada. The Sazerac House opened in New Orleans on October 2. The new Louis Armstrong International Airport opened in November in New Orleans. The new $1 billion terminal offers centralized security checkpoints, new garages and the sounds and flavors of New Orleans, including live jazz music throughout the day. Pontchatoula was featured in A Christmas Wish, a Lifetime film released in November. Plantation Country Ascension Parish unveiled “Donaldsonville’s Historic Portal to the Past.” The new portals are installed throughout the historic downtown and provide visitors a way to learn about the city’s rich history.

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In November it was announced that Tabby’s Blues Box, Baton Rouge’s famous juke joint is being revived at Red Stick Social. The original Blues Box was opened on North Boulevard in 1979. Sportsman’s Paradise The Glow Alchemy Kitchen recently opened in Shreveport, headed by Chef Jessica Comegys and featuring a mostly vegan menu. Cajun Country Lake Charles announced new branding in October, officially renaming themselves Visit Lake Charles and launching the tagline “Louisiana’s Playground.” New Iberia was featured in the Lifetime production Christmas in Louisiana, with locals participating as extras and scenes including the Christmas boat parade and the town’s historic main street. Crossroads The Gothic Jail in DeRidder made two national appearances in October, first on Travel Channel’s “Most Haunted Places” followed by the horror film “Eli” on Netflix. Natchitoches celebrated the 30th anniversary of Steel Magnolias in November with a special “Blush and Bashful Weekend,” special viewings of the movie, and more.

Louisiana Successes LSU won the 2020 BCS National Championship with an undefeated season. In November, Newsweek recognized Baton Rouge as a mecca for acoustic music, and rated the Red Dragon Listening Room as the No. 1 location in the world in the category of acoustic music. Parish Brewing Company in Broussard won a gold medal at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition recently held in Denver, Colorado. Fourteen Louisiana acts have been nominated for 21 awards at the 62nd annual Grammy celebration, scheduled for January 26. In December, New Orleans was ranked the best long haul city by Which? Travel’s survey of the world’s best cities.

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