What would a Louisiana event be without Tabasco sauce?
Tanya Leader and Carnival's
Justin French
Joanne Scalamogna of Access Marketing (repping Louisiana in Canada) with Rob McChlery of ACV
Part of the delegation including
Misty Velasquez, Maria Manzella of New Orleans CVB, Joanne and Jack Warner of the Louisiana Office of Tourism
Forget Mardi Gras. Scratch the jazz in New Orleans and and ditch those eye-popping plantation homes. Not to mention the 300 plus festivals per year. The folks of Louisiana are sitting on a tourism goldmine, it’s everywhere, and it’s free.
It’s the way they speak.
There is nothing more hospitable in my mind than a gentle drawl, whether it’s Tanya Leader of Louisana’s North Shore assuring me in a warm southern (pronounced “suthin”) accent that “You could eat your way through our state,” or Roman Gomez of the Ascension Paris Tourism Commission joking in languid manner, “Anything that moves, we can cook it and eat it.”
OK, so the food is a big attraction in Louisiana. And certainly if the munchies served at the recent Louisiana Happy Hour in Toronto were anything to go by, I certainly would volunteer to munch my way through the state. Jumbalaya rice balls. Cajun shrimp. Crab cakes with chipotle sauce. Mm mm me! Pass me a mint julip!
But let’s not forget the Mardi Gras celebrations (over 70 state wide) and plantation country (less than half an hour from downtown New Orleans). Swamp tours and alligator ranches. And with the huge upsurge in all things vampire, Louisiana is the place to be for all things fangy. As Misty Velasquez of the state’s office of tourism puts it, “We’ve been interested in vampires since 1699!”
The delegation of 10 from Louisiana was up visiting us to celebrate more than food and festivals. They’re trilled that Air Canada now has daily service from Toronto to New Orleans and WestJet recently operated their inaurugal flight, complete with Mounties.
ACV’s Rob McChlery for one, is a huge fan, though he may be negatively impacting sales on ACV’s affordable air-and-hotel packages. “It’s the mix of mystery and the exotic – I’ve been often and I can’t wait to go again. Sleeping is so unnecessary there.”
I agree. Sounds like there’s too much to see and do – and hear – in Louisiana.
