With summer travel season kicking into full swing, Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes are hoping an influx of advertising will attract more visitors and provide an economic boost to the area.
The two parishes are in the middle of marketing campaigns bankrolled by BP, whose 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill still has local tourist attractions fighting lingering concerns and misconceptions.
“We had a serious downswing with the oil spill,” said Captain Ron “Black” Guidry, who has operated Cajun Man Swamp Tours out of Gibson for 25 years. “I'm proud to say we are holding our own though, and things are starting to get better. We are not setting any records, but we are starting to see things pick up.”
Sharon Alford, executive director of the Houma Area Convention and Visitors bureau, said misconceptions birthed from the oil spill about fish and environment still haunt some tourist attractions.
She and others hope the marketing campaigns will help.
Terrebonne and Lafourche are spending $2.1 million. The money is part of a $78 million agreement between the state and BP. The state dispersed the money to all 64 parishes, with the six most affected — including the two local parishes — receiving the most.
Most of the parishes' immediate efforts have gone toward advertising and marketing.
Lafourche, which has spent just under $1 million so far, is primarily using the money to push its “Dig In” advertising campaign. The name of the campaign is based on the French meaning of Lafourche, which means “the fork,” said Julie Barrilleaux, the parish's special events coordinator.
The parish has paid for out-of-parish billboards and radio ads with Louisiana radio personality and former New Orleans Saint Bobby Hebert, which highlight the parish's dining and fishing attractions along with local tours.
Money has been used to revamp the parish's online presence with DigInLafourche.com, which links to local tourist attractions.
Parish officials are also taking the campaign to New Orleans for trade shows and conventions such as those held by the AARP and Kiwanis Club, Barrilleaux said.
“We are really looking to tap the New Orleans market,” Barrilleaux said. “It's important to people visiting New Orleans who might not know about all we have to offer.”
Aside from advertising, Lafourche has also spent money developing and hosting websites for local charter-boat captains, a group Barrilleaux said is one of the hardest hit by the spill and is most in need of the connectivity the Internet provides. The parish will pay to host the websites until Jan. 1.
Local charter captains gave mixed signals about the recovery and use of the new websites.
Eddie Berthelot of Spots and Specks Charters in Galliano said he hasn't had any visitors to his website.
“I'm sure it would be very helpful, but we just haven't had anybody find it yet,” Berthelot said. “I've went out the past three weekends and couldn't ask for any better fishing. We just need more advertising because folks are still scared of the oil.”
Terrebonne has taken a similar route in regard to the focus of its advertising, seeking to brand Houma as the “saltwater fishing capital of the world,” said Janel Ricca, director of the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center.
Ricca has worked on the effort with officials from parish government and the Houma Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Though the entities have been working together, the parish is ultimately responsible for how the money is spent.
Terrebonne has spent about $411,000 on the saltwater-fishing advertising with ads appearing on television, billboards and in SEC football programs, said Terrebonne Planning Director Pat Gordon.
Officials from both parishes said locals likely won't see the advertising as it is primarily aimed at people at least 50 miles outside the parish.
Money will also be used to design and purchase new road signs and information kiosks for the parish, Ricca said.
Along with advertising, both parishes have provided ways for local organizations to apply for grant money to organize festivals or events.
Though some charter captains reported ongoing malaise tied to the spill, Marty LaCoste, who runs Absolute Fishing Charters out of Dularge, said business has never been better.
“My business is having the busiest year I've ever had,” said LaCoste, who has been running charter trips for about seven years. “Advertising is important, and the Internet is key for me.”
Both parishes said judging the results of their efforts so far is best done through the local businesses, though Gordon said collections from the Hotel-Motel tax are strong.
Barrilleaux also commented that the parish had 30 million ad impressions, or appearances, on Facebook pages spanning multiple countries.
Looking past summer, Terrebonne is also spending recovery money on a rebranding campaign for the parish that will see a new slogan and logo developed. The new brand is set to be unveiled at the end of this month after researchers spent months conferring with locals through surveys and focus groups to develop the new brand, Gordon said.
“We hope that in 10 years, we can look at this (money) still pushing our tourism,” Gordon said.
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