GET DAILY REPORT FREE
Sponsored by Visit Baton Rouge
Travel and tourism have been among the most affected sectors in the global pandemic. Tourism is the largest service industry globally, accounting for nearly 10 percent of global GDP. Nearly 293 million jobs, or one in eleven jobs around the world, are within the tourism sector.
When visitors come to our city, the money they spend recirculates in the economy. Directly, businesses hire local employees or purchase local products. Indirectly, visitors spend their money with local business. Baton Rouge has a lot to celebrate in the growth that we are seeing coming out of a bumpy couple of years.
Hotels, restaurants, attractions and retail outlets are beginning to thrive again largely thanks to local sports and other events returning to the city.
IT’S GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME
What a difference a year makes. Visit Baton Rouge shared some results and encourages local businesses to embrace what makes them local.
Pre-Covid (January – March 13th 2020)
— 15,000 Hotel room nights were booked
During Covid, over 52,000 room nights were lost or canceled
— over 12,000 room nights were rescheduled
So far in 2021:
— 32,000 (over 170 groups) booked rooms
— 7,000 room nights were rescheduled
50,000 room nights are anticipated in 2022
Visitor numbers are encouraging in recent reports from the Visitors Center for 2021:
BTR Metropolitan Airport (May-July): 2,563 visitors
State Capitol (April-July): 2,845 visitors
Visit Baton Rouge (February-July): 787 visitors
Riverboats (March-July): 5,751 visitors
There is plenty of visitor revenue to look forward to in the coming year. In 2022, the Raising Cane’s River Center has several coming attractions sure to cause an economic ripple in the area:
— The Louisiana Marathon: January 13-17
— LHSAA State Wrestling Tournament: February 10-12
— Louisiana Senior Beta Club Convention: February 23-25
— Purple & Gold Gymnastics: March 3-5
— Baton Rouge Block Volleyball: March 25-27
— Gulf of Mexico Conference: April 25-28
— United Methodist Church Conference: June 14-18
Don’t just live here, be local. Take pride in being a Baton Rouge business. Become a tourist in your own city: eat and shop locally, plan staycations and experience the museums, and other wonderful offerings of the Capital Region. Click here to stay in the know about upcoming events and see how your business could benefit.
