UPDATED: Lt. gov. stumps for St. Mary tourism

By Bill Decker
bdecker@daily-review.com
All the world knows about the pleasures of New Orleans. Shreveport has the Independence Bowl and, more recently, a thriving casino industry. If you want to hear zydeco or Cajun music, “Allons á Lafayette.”
But Louisiana outside the big cities has attractions for tourists, too, said Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser on Tuesday, when his statewide Tourism Week tour came to the Cajun Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau in Morgan City.
“With the tough budget problems, we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and make sure we’re getting the most bang for the buck, and get more people to visit Louisiana,” Nungesser said in an interview. “Especially all 64 parishes.
“They’re going to visit the big cities. We’ve got to get them all across the state to the beautiful marshlands ... and the rig museum and all the things every parish has to offer.”
Nungesser pointed to 28.9 million visitors to Louisiana in 2015, visitors who spent $11 billion and generated $834 million in tax revenue that Louisiana people don’t have to pay. Employment in travel and tourism has topped 220,000.
“At a time when we can create the jobs in this industry and fill the hotel rooms to promote Louisiana to get more people here, it’s an industry we ought to be growing,” Nungesser said.
Carrie Stansbury, who leads the Cajun Coast staff, said the bureau’s budget is down about $18,000 because of the downturn precipitated by a nearly two-year plunge in oil prices.
But that’s not bad compared to the battles faced by local governments, Stansbury said.
“We’re just working it,” Stansbury said. “We’re trying to engage the people of St. Mary Parish ... and promote everything a little big heavier than we did in the past, especially the local events.”