Baton Rouge, LA: The Louisiana Office of Tourism’s annual Tourism Sales and Marketing Educational Seminar will be held on January 20-21, 2026.  According to the State’s Research Analytics, Louisiana hosted 44.5 million domestic and international visitors in 2024 and generated $18.7 billion in visitor spending.  The leisure and hospitality industry is also the fourth largest employer in the state.    

Louisiana features a broad range of destinations and destination products of interest to visitors from all over the world.   The 44.5 million visitors to Louisiana in 2024 represented an increase of 3.5% over 2023.  Expenditures by domestic visitors totaled $17.3 billion and $1.4 billion were expended by international visitors (an increase in each segment over previous years).    

Louisiana continues to focus on expanding their inbound international market, recognizing that travel to the United States  will be of greater interest because of the “once-in-a-generation” events being held in America this year.  In addition to the 2026 FIFA World Cup Games to be held in various destinations across the country, global travelers will be incentivized by Brand USA’s celebration of the extraordinary selection of America’s diverse destinations, culture and people featured in their “America the Beautiful” campaign as well as the 100^th anniversary of Route 66.   

In January 2024, Alon Tourism Solutions and the International Inbound Travel Association (IITA) brought the opportunity to learn about and participate in growing inbound international tourism to Louisiana. Through its partnership with IITA’s Steps to Success™ program, the Louisiana Office of Tourism continues to enhance tourism partners across the state with the educational resources needed to more effectively promote their destinations, experiences, and products to international markets.

Congratulations to Virgil Allen, President of “The Rig Museum” who, having taken the course, received IITA’s “Stamp of Approval” certificate!   Mr. Allen successfully created outreach collateral that is specific to B2B sales via tour operators, receptive operators and travel agents. The Rig Museum, a decommissioned offshore oil rig in Morgan City, LA, offers tours of “Mr. Charlie” that allow visitors to tour the rig and learn about the lifestyle of workers who are employed on offshore oil rigs.  With this certificate, The Rig Museum’s tours will be presented as a product to potential visitors worldwide!  

Louisiana destinations and destination product providers will have the opportunity to participate in a breakout workshop during the Educational Seminar focused on moving from strategy to execution in international tourism. The STS-based session will guide participants through the process of developing a clear, trade-ready sales piece, providing practical examples and hands-on guidance to help translate interest in inbound markets into actionable materials. 

The workshop will also highlight the important role DMOs play in supporting stakeholder readiness, from setting expectations to helping partners prepare products that can be effectively represented at trade shows, sales missions, and tour operator meetings. To support continued progress beyond the session, IITA and Alon Tourism Solutions offer the Steps to Success program, a low-cost online course that provides foundational education on the “how and why” of working with inbound operators and helps destinations build readiness in a scalable, accessible way.