53.2 million domestic & international visitors to the state of Louisiana, a 3.8 percent increase in visitation over 2018
$18.9 billion total spending by domestic and international visitors
$1.92 billion total state and local tax revenues generated by travel and tourism activities in Louisiana, resulting in a 2.1 percent increase year over year
242,200 employed in the leisure & hospitality industry
Over 16.3 million total passengers arrived and departed Louisiana airports, which is a 4.3 percent increase over 2018
The travel and tourism industry is the 4th highest employer in the state
Top 3 - leisure travel activities for Louisiana domestic travelers are:
Visiting friends and relatives
Shopping
Fine dining
Louisiana Facts
Nickname: "Pelican State"
State Motto: "Union, Justice and Confidence"
Population: 4,410,796 (2009 U.S. Census estimate)
State Capitol:
Located on 27 acres in Baton Rouge and was completed on March 1, 1932
The Louisiana State Capitol building is 450 feet in height - the tallest state capitol building in the U.S.
State Bird: Brown Pelican
State Flower: Magnolia
Louisiana's lowest elevation is in New Orleans, at 8 feet below sea level.
New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz music. Southwest Louisiana's "Cajun Prairie" is the indigenous home to Cajun and zydeco music.
Cuisine that is indigenous to Louisiana includes crawfish (a tiny, freshwater shellfish resembling a miniature lobster); gumbo (a hearty soup thickened with skillet-browned oil and flour, or a "roux"); and jambalaya (a rice and meat dish similar to a Spanish paella).
Louisiana is one of the largest fur producers in the U.S. Species harvested annually include beaver, bobcat, coyote, gray fox, mink, muskrat, nutria, opossum, raccoon, red fox and river otter.
Avery Island's salt mine was discovered in 1862, making it the oldest in the Western Hemisphere