Louisiana Research | Louisiana Office of Tourism

$17.5 billion total spending by domestic and international visitors, a 4 percent increase in spending over 2016

$1.8 billion total state and local tax revenues generated by travel and tourism activities in Louisiana, resulting in a 4.5 percent increase year over year

Over 14.3 million total passengers arrived and departed Louisiana airports, which is a 6.7 percent increase over 2016

Top 3 - leisure travel activities for Louisiana domestic travelers are:
1. Visiting friends and relatives
2. Shopping
3. 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