2018 Louisiana Tourism By The Numbers

• 51.3 million domestic & international visitors to the state of Louisiana

• $18.8 billion total spending by domestic and international visitors, a 7.6 percent increase in spending over 2017

• $1.9 billion total state and local sales tax revenues generated by travel and tourism activities in Louisiana, resulting in a 3.7 percent increase year over year

• 237,200 employed in tourism

• Over 15.6 million total passengers arrived and departed Louisiana airports, which is a 9 percent increase over 2017

• The travel and tourism industry is the 4th highest employer in the state

• 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