Road trips look a little different in 2017 when cars can navigate—and even drive—for you. But welcome centers still have a place in Louisiana.
The Town Talk reports that each year the state’s welcome centers typically attract an estimated one million visitors. 2016 figures, though, were down a bit because one center is closed for renovations. Still, more than 800,000 people stopped at Louisiana welcome centers last year. The state tourism office, however, says the total number of visitors to the state’s welcome centers in 2016 would have been around 1.1 million had the Vinton center not closed. That’s based on the previous years’ averages.
The Louisiana Office of Tourism runs 12 welcome centers in all, 11 of which are active in Alexandria, Atchafalaya, Greenwood, Kentwood, Mound, New Orleans, Pearl River, St. Francisville, Slidell, State Capitol and Vidalia.
The welcome centers use guestbooks travelers sign to determine how many people have visited. The data from the guestbooks also is analyzed to get a sense of who Louisiana’s visitors are and what attracted them to the Bayou State.
Lauren Holmes, Vinton Welcome Center supervisor and assistant regional coordinator of the Welcome Center Program, says international visitors tend to take longer trips and often use welcome centers to help plan. Travel counselors help narrow down trip suggestions based on what visitors want to see and how much time and money they have to spend. They also give directions, she says.
In 2016, most international visitors to Louisiana traveled from Canada, France, United Kingdom, Germany and Mexico. Texas, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and Georgia were the top five states of origin among U.S. visitors to Louisiana.
