Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and his team are working to launch a program to “make all residents ambassadors for Louisiana” to help promote and market the state on social media.
The Advertiser reports the program is still in the works and that it aligns with Nungesser’s belief that it takes a team to promote tourism.
“We have limited funds to promote the state, so we want to give tools to everyone to promote it,” Nungesser tells the Lafayette newspaper. “The days of spending a bunch of money in advertising are over. We’ve got the people, the passion—the love. We just have to put them together.”
Louisiana has seen growth in the volume of inbound international tourism, which increased 36% in 2015.
“It’s an opportunity for us to work hard and bring in every tourist,” Nungesser says, adding that Louisiana has to work to keep up the momentum driving the increase.
Nungesser also says his office is in the process of sending out a request for bids to hire a marketing firm with a special focus on in-state advertising. He expects the contract will be awarded next spring.
Nungesser also wants to work with businesses such as hotels and restaurants to come to state parks, while being careful not to take away from existing businesses nearby.
“We don’t want to hurt local business,” he says. “We have to get buy-in to everything we do.”
