Ouachita Parish travel and tourism resulted in $24.6 million in 2023

MONROE, La. (KNOE) – Louisiana continues to see the number of tourists growing, and it has impacted northeast Louisiana significantly.

According to the State Office of Tourism, Louisiana welcomed more than 40 million domestic and international visitors in 2023. Visitors to the state spent a total of $18.1 billion in 2023. Northeast Louisiana saw some of those dollars well. Among sporting events, conventions and meetings, Ouachita Parish pulled in more than $24.6 million.

Discover Monroe-West Monroe sent KNOE’s newsroom on Monday (May 20) the estimated economic impact of some of the largest events in the area:

• NCHA Eastern National Championship: $1,497,173.05
• Live Original Conference: 1, 165, 572. 30
• Louisiana Association of Student Councils: $655,220.11
• USA BMX Cajun Nationals: $447, 276.98
• MLF Heavy Hitters: $431,747.14

“This is a big time for us. We have a ton of sporting events. This is really a great area for sports tourism. We just hosted the NJCAA outdoor track and field – men’s and women’s championship last weekend, where we had over 800 athletes, and we’re looking forward to some huge events like that coming up in the summer,” said Vice President of Communications Sheila Snow of Discover Monroe-West Monroe.

Discover Monroe-West Monroe said the Twin Cities hosted a total of 181 events throughout the year in 2023. Snow said of the $24.6 million dollars produced last year, that’s money that citizens don’t have to pay.

“Some of our research has shown that on average, visitors spent last year in 2023, visitors spent about $189 per trip into our area. And so, those are some monies that our community members aren’t having to spend here,” said Snow.

Discover Monroe-West Monroe is celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week until Saturday.

Copyright 2024 KNOE. All rights reserved.