Tourism increases in 2011 for BR
Tourism in the capital region was up in 2011, and officials hope this year will be even stronger, thanks to the return of riverboats and other attractions.
Even with the number of Baton Rouge hotel rooms increasing by 3.6 percent in 2011 with the opening of properties like the Indigo and Renaissance hotels, occupancy was still up, said Renee Areng, vice president for sales and marketing at Visit Baton Rouge, the local convention and visitors bureau.
“Even with that increase, we saw occupancy increase, slightly, which means we had even more people staying in Baton Rouge, which is good news for us,” Areng told the Baton Rouge Rotary Club on Wednesday.
Overall hotel revenue in Baton Rouge was up 6 percent last year, with nearly 94,000 rooms booked, according to visitor center statistics. Culture, shopping and cuisine are the top three reasons visitors come to Baton Rouge, visitor center officials concluded.
In addition to the return of paddle-wheelers like the American Queen, Baton Rouge will play host to smaller vessels like the Grand Caribe operated by Blount Small Ship Adventures and other overnight river excursions through USA River Cruises.
“They will create tours downtown and all over the metropolitan area,” said Areng, who noted this will be the first return of river cruises since Hurricane Katrina.
Other tourism draws this year will be the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, set for Feb. 11 to July 9. The bowling event will attract some 100,000 people over a course of 150 days, translating to roughly 900 people per day, most of them staying in area hotels.
“They come from all over, and the majority of them drive,” Areng said. “The majority of them will shop, will game, will dine, and will golf.”