Lt. Gov. Nungesser extols benefits of tourism in visit to St. Landry Parish

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser stopped at the St. Landry Parish Visitors Center off Interstate 49 to talk about the benefits of tourism.
State budget cuts show the value of tourism, he said to about 40 people Wednesday morning in the five-year-old center.
Tourism generated $843 million to the state’s budget in 2015 and that was money “...we didn’t have to pay in taxes.”
Nungesser’s visit was part of National Travel and Tourism Week from May 1 to 7. His next stop was Alexandria and then Natchitoches.
Before Nungesser spoke, Jason Huguet, chef at the Steamboat Warehouse Restaurant in Washington, said he grew up seeing the benefits of tourism, which he said is among the top five employers in the state.
Nungesser noted Huguet’s passion and said that is shared by many in Louisiana.
“That’s what makes us special,” Nungesser said. “It is people like the chef that got up here.”
Nungesser added, “He truly loves and believes in his parish and town. Don’t ever lose that because that’s what I’m most proud of.”
Nunesser said he had just returned from a tourism promotion trip to Canada.
“Forty percent of international travelers come from Canada. We are going to make a real effort to get those Canadians down here and continue to spread our name across Canada,” he said.
International travelers tend to roam the state more than other visitors, he said. “They want to see more when they come to a place.”
A June travel convention in New Orleans is projected to create 80.8 million international visitors in the years to follow and $28 billion in total spending, he said.
There will be a $1.7 billion direct impact from the convention and 1 million visitors to the state by 2018.