The Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau announced the rescheduling of the 2020 North Louisiana Travel Outlook Conference for Thursday, Sept. 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., due to uncertain trajectories of Hurricane Laura. With evacuations underway in various Louisiana cities and intensifying winds and storms, the conference has been postponed for two weeks.
Originally scheduled to take place on Thursday, Aug. 27, virtual tickets to the North Louisiana Travel Outlook Conference are still available for $20. The Tourist Bureau is also offering a $30 in-person experience at the Hilton Shreveport, which includes lunch. A limited number of in-person tickets will be sold to adhere to strict social distance guidelines. Both tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.Shreveport-Bossier.org/NLTOC.
“With an impending hurricane bearing down on our state, we decided to reschedule our 2020 North Louisiana Travel Outlook Conference two weeks later than we originally planned,” said Stacy Brown, president of the Tourist Bureau. “Cancelling this event is not an option because Shreveport-Bossier is still recovering from COVID-19, and this conference is extremely important to help the tourism industry chart a path toward recovery.”
The North Louisiana Travel Outlook Conference will give local tourism professionals in the hotel, gaming, restaurant, attraction, retail, and meeting venue business an opportunity to hear expert national, regional, and local tourism professionals. Tourism is vital to Shreveport-Bossier’s economy. In 2019, visitor spending in Shreveport-Bossier was an estimated $827 million, according to the UNO Hospitality Research compiled for the Louisiana Office of Tourism. Losses this year total $27.6 million as a result of cancelled convention/group/sports events for 2020.
The conference will feature five speakers and six panel discussions on topics that range from how to safely host an outdoor festival or event to how the oil and gas industry will affect future tourism. Transportation, restaurants, attractions, Black-owned businesses, meetings and conventions, and sports tourism are topics that will be covered.
The 2020 North Louisiana Travel Outlook Conference is made possible because of the Tourist Bureau’s partners, supporters and sponsors including Sam’s Town Casino and Hotel, AEP SWEPCO, Barksdale Federal Credit Union, Good Guys Promotional Products, APS Payroll, Red River Bank, Shreveport-Bossier Hotel & Lodging Association, and Hilton Shreveport.
Please direct all evacuees seeking an overnight stay in Shreveport-Bossier to www.Shreveport-Bossier.org/hotels for a full list of accommodations and hotel availability. For more information about the North Louisiana Travel Outlook Conference, visit www.Shreveport-Bossier.org/NTOLC or the North Louisiana Travel Outlook Conference Facebook event, which is hosted by Shreveport-Bossier: Louisiana’s Other Side.
