Dardenne wants a north-south partnership in marketing Louisiana

Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne says he wants north and south Louisiana to work together to market the state as a whole to tourists. “If we can work together, that’s 4.5 million people serving as advocates for the state,” says Dardenne, who spoke today before the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge. Dardenne showed off a new advertising campaign that is running in markets outside the state, promoting such Louisiana attractions as Acadiana swamps and south Louisiana seafood. Spots are in the works to promote the freshwater fishing in north Louisiana and the music of New Orleans. Much of the advertising campaign is being boosted by $30 million from BP, in partial payment for the devastation caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Of that $30 million, $23.5 million is being split among the state’s 64 parishes and $6.5 million will promote the state as a whole. Dardenne says the state needs help, because the $24.5 million his office gets annually to market Louisiana lags behind what other southern states receive. This year alone, Florida increased its state tourism advertising budget by $30 million. The plan is to take advantage of opportunities, such as the hit show Swamp People. “That’s the most-watched show on the History Channel,” Dardenne says. Louisiana tourism is expected to lose $295 million through the first quarter of 2013, because of fallout from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Dardenne says the goal is to use the BP money and these tie-ins to speed up the state’s recovery from these losses. “We’re hoping to turn things around by the end of 2012,” he says. —Timothy Boone