ENROLLED 2015 Regular Session HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 59 BY REPRESENTATIVE LEGER A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION To designate Tuesday, April 21, 2015, as Tourism Day at the state capitol. WHEREAS, 2014 was a record-breaking year in tourism with more than twenty- eight million people visiting Louisiana and spending a total of $11.2 billion; and WHEREAS, 2014 visitor expenditures resulted in $836 million in state tax revenue; and WHEREAS, the revenue generated from domestic and international visitors represents a remarkable 38-to-1 return on investment of state funding of the Louisiana office of tourism; and WHEREAS, tourism and hospitality was Louisiana's number one job growth sector in 2014, and travel spending supports 223,000 jobs in Louisiana; and WHEREAS, no state general funds are appropriated for tourism; tourism is funded exclusively by a dedication of three one-hundredths of a cent of sales tax; and WHEREAS, the funds generated by this dedication have been and continue to be used by the Louisiana office of tourism to promote tourism to our state, and as a result they create enormous economic impact; and WHEREAS, the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association board of directors, on behalf of the more than seven hundred fifty tourism professional members of the association, recommends that the Louisiana office of tourism budget be fully funded. Page 1 of 2 HCR NO. 59 ENROLLED THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby designate Tuesday, April 21, 2015, as Tourism Day at the state capitol and does hereby express appreciation and support for the fine work of the Louisiana office of tourism in its mission to bring visitors to Louisiana and provide ambassadorial and financial benefits to the state. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the assistant secretary of tourism in the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE Page 2 of 2