2017 Lieutenant Governor’s Tourism Summit largest ever

Reel Louisiana Video Contest winners Dacoda Bartels (left), of Lafayette, and Sarah Andry (right), of New Orleans, with Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser.

Lieutenant Governor Nungesser’s Tourism Summit, held August 22-24 in New Orleans, was deemed a huge success. The summit, held at Sheraton New Orleans by the Louisiana Tourism Promotional Association, hosted over 500 tourism professionals from around the state to discuss the successes of the last year, goals for the upcoming year and future endeavors. “Summit is a great time for all of us to gather and celebrate the great accomplishments we have achieved,” said Lt. Governor Nungesser. “It’s also a time to hear from tourism professionals around the nation and state about their ideas and strategies for improving the Louisiana experience for all visitors from New Orleans to Shreveport to Acadiana.”

The theme of the 2017 Summit was #OnlyLouisiana, in reference to the Lt. Gov.’s Bayou Krewe Ambassador program that launched in January 2017. Prior to summit, the Louisiana Office of Tourism launched a video contest called Reel Louisiana, a contest where filmmakers submit a 90 second video of their version of “Only Louisiana.”

During the Lt. Governor’s Closing Luncheon, the top three winners were announced. First place went to Dacoda Bartels, of Lafayette; second place went to Evan Moore, of Seattle; and third place went to Sarah Andry of New Orleans. Their videos, as well as all the videos, can be viewed at https://theaudienceawards.com/louisiana-tourism/reel-louisiana.

“We had 30 submissions to the Reel Louisiana contest,” said Lt. Governor Nungesser. “It is a pleasure to see people near and far show their love and passion for Louisiana in various ways. The contest was very competitive and selecting the top ten was a huge task for the panel of judges.”

Other tourism experts like Jill Kidder, Ben Berthelot and Kyle Edmiston praised the success of the summit and the work that is being done by tourism professionals around the state to bring more people to the great state of Louisiana.

“This year’s Summit was an enormous success thanks to our media partners, engaging speakers, LTPA members and, of course, our Lt. Governor,” said Jill Kidder, President and CEO of LTPA. “In the more than 25 years that LTPA has presented this conference, we were proud to see this year’s attendance surpass our previous record! With support from the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the New Orleans CVB and the Office of the Lt. Governor, we believe this year’s events will long be remembered by those in the industry for their energy, productivity and abundance of networking opportunities.”

“The Lt. Governor’s Summit is always a great time to reflect on the past year and look forward to what’s ahead. I left the Summit even more inspired by the direction our state is heading under Lt. Governor Nungesser,” said Ben Berthelot, President and CEO of the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission. “His energy and passion are contagious, and we are fortunate to have him as our leader. We are also fortunate to have so many other organizations and people across the state, like the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association, all pulling in the same direction for one common goal…increasing visitation to the great state of Louisiana.”

“The 2017 Lt. Governor’s Tourism Summit was an overwhelming success,” said Assistant Secretary of Tourism Kyle Edmiston. “I appreciate so much the commitment of Lt. Governor Nungesser to participate and attend every session during the Summit. Also, much gratitude to Jill Kidder and the team at LTPA for a fantastic job organizing and coordinating the event.

The 2018 Lt. Governor’s Tourism Summit will be hosted by the Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau at the Golden Nugget in Lake Charles from August 21-23.

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