Director offers update on tourism in Vermilion Parish

By Alison Miller, Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission Executive Director

The Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission (VPTC) met this week to discuss what had been accomplished during the past year and the marketing efforts the Tourist Commission would like to continue with in 2014. The outlook for tourism in Vermilion Parish is positive due to an increase in visitors to our website and a great response to our advertising. The following are some of the highlights.
Tourism in Vermilion Parish received a boost when the Vermilion Parish received an additional $500,000 Gulf Tourism and Seafood Promotion Grant from BP to market our parish. Through this grant, VPTC was able to place ads in 68 state, regional and national publications, ran internet ads on TourLouisiana.com, VisitSouth.com, LouisianaTravel.com and through the Eco-Tourism network, run radio and television ads throughout Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas and produce five parish videos that are available for viewing on our website and YouTube channel. VPTC also offered an advertising buy-in to area tourism-related businesses at a discounted rate and placed ads in the following publications: 2014 Louisiana Tour Guide; 2013 LCVC Travel Planner Guide, Discover Iberia, a full year of Travel Host magazine and four issues of Louisiana Life magazine.
In addition to increased advertising, VPTC helped 29 parish festivals and events with their advertising efforts. From the BP grant, $85,000 was granted to qualifying festivals and events to help promote their event to a larger and wider audience. Other marketing efforts included the update and production of the Vermilion Parish Visitors Guide, Vermilion Parish Culinary Trails, Vermilion Parish Calendar of Events, recipe cards (printed in English and French), Points of Interest Maps and the Vermilion Cultural Corridor brochure.
According to official tourism figures, VPTC had a total of 26,695 inquiries for 2013. This figure represents 838 visitors coming to the Visitor Center; 642 call-ins; 1,122 website requests; 24,093 requests from e-mail and ads placed in regional and national publications. 46,682 people visited the tourism website, www.MostCajun.com, in 2013 which is the highest number of web visitors since 2010. Walk-in visitors included people from all over the United States, Canada, France, Belgium, New Zealand, Switzerland, Brazil and Germany. Since 2013 occupancy tax revenue was up thirteen percent over 2012 tax collections, Vermilion Parish accommodations also saw an increase in business.
For a copy of the 2013 Vermilion Parish Progress Report, contact VPTC at 898-6600 or director@vermilion.org. The Tourist Commission office is located at 1905 Veterans Memorial Drive in Abbeville and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.