Tourism professionals from across the state descended upon New Orleans for the Louisiana Travel Summit (AUG 18-20). With more than 400 attendees, the event is the state’s largest travel-focused educational opportunity. It is hosted by the Louisiana Travel Association with support from the Louisiana Office of Tourism.
The marquee Louisiana travel event featured:
- Keynote address from Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser
- Roundtable discussion with local leaders, including New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno
- Top travel educational speakers from around the country
- Workshops led by experts addressing the latest industry trends
- Various opportunities to network with tourism professionals
Roux Advertising at the Louisiana Travel Summit
As in previous years, Roux Advertising attended the 2026 Summit as a sponsor, partner, and participant. For three days, we were immersed in all things travel, tourism, and hospitality marketing–learning, networking, and showcasing our own expertise.
During the Louisiana Travel Summit, Roux Advertising President Eric Morgan took the stage with Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, Assistant Secretary Douglas Bourgeois, and our creative partners to launch the “Every Moment Feeds Your Soul” campaign for the Louisiana Office of Tourism.
“This campaign puts Louisiana’s people, places, and culture front and center as it aims to connect with travelers and convert them to visitors,” Eric said of the campaign. “As one of our state’s largest economic drivers, the work we do in the tourism industry reaches an international audience and shows people around the world all that Louisiana has to offer. We are incredibly proud to be a part of it!”
Now that the Summit is over, we are excited to bring these new strategies and ideas to our clients. They are yet another way attractions, destinations, and hotels can win travelers’ decision moments and become industry leaders.
Our Biggest Takeaways from the Louisiana Travel Summit
Here are a few of big takeaways from this year’s summit:
Building Connections and Relationships is Key
Winning the traveler’s decision moment is essential for every destination and hospitality brand, regardless of size or budget. Travel decisions are often emotional and highly personal, so people are more likely to choose destinations, hotels, attractions, and experiences they have:
- Confidence in
- Established trust
- Feel a strong connection with
Effective tourism marketing goes beyond promoting a place—it creates opportunities for travelers to imagine themselves experiencing it. To be successful, you must win the memory game by consistently engaging audiences with relevant, inspiring content across multiple touchpoints. By doing this, destinations build familiarity, trust, and long-term relationships with travelers that encourage both first-time and repeat visits.
It’s Not Attracting More People, But the Right People
Tourism marketing isn’t simply about reaching the largest possible audience. It’s about attracting the RIGHT audience of travelers—those who are most likely to pick your destination over the countless others, stay longer, spend locally, participate in experiences, and return in the future.
Understanding your destination’s ideal visitors allows marketing efforts to become more targeted and effective. Rather than trying to appeal to everyone, destinations must focus their messaging, media investment, and content on audiences whose interests and travel behaviors align with your destination’s goals and experiences.
The Right Storytelling Builds Trust and Familiarity
Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to connect with travelers, build trust, and win their decision. Today’s travelers quickly recognize overly polished or generic advertising, so crafting the right position is critical.
What is storytelling and how can it create a stronger emotional connection?
- Sharing real stories from within the community
- Promoting local voices
- Showing unique experiences
- Elevating the people behind a destination
Use storytelling to inform travelers about what makes a destination unique, what the experience will feel like, and why they should choose you over the other options. Over time, that consistent storytelling builds familiarity and credibility—and can turn a destination from a place someone knows about into a place they genuinely want to visit.
The Importance of Understanding Your Audience
All marketing starts with understanding the audience. Data, research, consumer insights, industry instincts, and behavioral trends help destinations identify who their most valuable travelers are–and just as importantly, what motivates them to make travel decisions. What inspires one audience to book a weekend getaway may be completely different from what motivates a family vacationer, outdoor enthusiast, or luxury traveler.
By combining data with audience research, marketers can develop more informed strategies, create more relevant messaging, and deliver the right content to the right people at the right stage to win the decision moment.
Consistency and Cohesion for Brand Marketing
For destinations looking to elevate their brand, consistency matters. Every interaction a traveler has with a destination—from an advertisement or social post to a website visit or email—should feel connected to the larger brand strategy. Consistent messaging, visual identity, tone, and storytelling help build recognition and reinforce what makes a destination distinctive.
Campaigns shouldn’t exist in silos. Instead, they should work together to create a cohesive brand experience that strengthens awareness and keeps your destination top of mind throughout the travel decision-making process.
Growing Trends in the Travel Industry
Tourism marketers must continually adapt as traveler expectations, technology, and media consumption evolve. Destinations that understand these trends—and strategically incorporate them into their marketing—can remain relevant and competitive as the travel landscape continues to evolve.
Several trends are particularly important to watch, including:
- Influencer and creator marketing
- Travelers increasingly look to creators and real people for inspiration and recommendations
- 78% of Americans say social media influencers or creator content prompt them to explore new destinations, restaurants, or attractions (Forbes)
- Accessibility and inclusive travel
- Approximately 1.85 billion people live with a disability, representing roughly 16% of the world’s population (UN Tourism)
- $58.2 Billion: Annual spending by U.S. travelers with mobility disabilities alone. This is a huge market that you cannot afford to ignore
- Kristy Durso (@kristygoes) travel accessibility advocate, was a keynote speaker at the Louisiana Travel Summit
- Artificial intelligence in tourism
- AI is changing how people discover information, plan trips, search for recommendations, and interact with brands
- Over 54% of travelers use AI to research attractions, compare prices, and build multi-day itineraries, while only 22% of destination marketing organizations (DMOs) currently offer AI trip-planning capabilities (Lodging Magazine)
About Roux Advertising
Roux Advertising builds media strategies that connect investment to revenue. We help ambitious brands understand where their marketing is creating value, where efficiency is declining, and how media investment can better support business growth.
Contact Roux Advertising at (504) 561-5055 or eric@rouxadvertising.com
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