2017 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 42
BY SENATOR LAFLEUR
A RESOLUTION
To designate Monday, April 24, 2017, as Tourism Day at the state capitol.
WHEREAS, 2016 was the fifth consecutive record-breaking year in tourism with
46.7 million people visiting Louisiana, representing a 2.57 percent increase over 2015
visitors; and
WHEREAS, 2016 visitor spending totaled $16.8 billion, a 4.3 percent increase over
the previous year's spending with individual visitors spending an average of $360 apiece;
and
WHEREAS, for every one dollar spent promoting tourism in Louisiana, the state sees
a return of forty dollars in tax revenue; and
WHEREAS, visitor expenditures statewide tend to be nearly one third in restaurants
and bars, and lodging at nearly one quarter of the expenditures; and
WHEREAS, a major aspect of these expenditures is that they represent significant
employment for Louisianians with over two hundred thirty thousand workers employed in
direct or indirect tourism jobs in 2016 and when compared to regular government segments,
tourism employment ranks fourth in the number of jobs created, with approximately every
seventy-two thousand dollars of visitor expenditures creating one direct job; and
WHEREAS, key tourism indicators including tourism employment, airport passenger
activity, and hotel and convention room nights all have increased significantly and the
substantial growth is continuing through this decade; and
WHEREAS, no state general funds are appropriated for tourism as it is totally funded
by a dedication of three one-hundredths of a cent of sales tax for statewide expenses; and
WHEREAS, the funds generated by this dedication have been and continue to be
used by the Louisiana office of tourism to promote tourism in our state, and as a result they
create enormous economic impact; and
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WHEREAS, with the growth in travel and tourism in Louisiana resulting in an
increasing economic impact on the state's economy, this sector has contributed significantly
to the restoration and rebirth of the state following several years of both natural and
manmade disasters devastating the state.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby designate Monday, April 24, 2017, as Tourism Day at the state capitol and does
hereby express appreciation and support for the fine work of the Louisiana office of tourism
and its mission to bring visitors to Louisiana and provide ambassadorial and financial
benefits to the state.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
assistant secretary of tourism in the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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